S is for Safe
by Thaena
Summary: The Alphabet might only be 26 letters long and if you think of ten words to each letter... that should be enough time for a trapped rescuer to get rescued...right?
1. Chapter 1

OK. I had to get in on this Alphabet thing. I've been working so hard finishing Aftermath and hit a stumbling block then RL hit. I took a nasty fall at work and ended up in Rehab for 6wks then had to have emergency minor surgery. I'm healed now mostly and back to work. But the boys were insisting I write this NOW. I thought maybe if I did, they'd let me finish the other.

Enjoy!

Safe.

Secure.

The paramedic found himself smiling over the thought of those words. He sighed and turned his flashlight on once again. His current circumstances hadn't changed any; left wall-wood—check, right wall- dirt—check, floor compacted dirt—check, ceiling? He shone the light upward and watched as small particles of dirt and dust swirled in the air. Yep, still waaaaay up there. He could even see the hole he'd fallen through. He shifted painfully, trying to find a more comfortable seat on the hard surface. His leg screamed pain at him in protest for the movement and he tensed as the spasm flashed through him.

Spasm.

Stuck.

Sealed in.

No. That didn't count. It was two words. And besides, they broke the rule of only thinking of encouraging words. He sighed heavily. He couldn't believe he'd been down here long enough to even make it into the "S's". He leaned carefully back against the wood wall and shut the flashlight off.

Silence.

Solitary.

Singular.

A disgusted sound rumbled in his throat even as unwanted tears stung his eyes. Now stop that! He chastised himself. Someone was bound to find him sooner or later. He sighed again. Boy, he sure hoped it was sooner rather than later. He bent his right knee until his thigh was closer to his body then rested his crossed arms on it. Pain flaring red hot on both arms made him hiss and pull back. He felt carefully along first one forearm then the other. As far as he could tell, the bleeding had all but stopped. He knew the deep abrasions gotten from when he'd tried to stop his earlier descent would need a good cleaning and possible debrising. He shuddered, not looking forward to that future action. A little more carefully this time, he rested his crossed arms on his knee and let his head sink down onto them even as he stared off blankly into the darkness. As it had each time he became still, worry over his partner filled his mind and made a chill run down his back.

His partner and he had been called out right as Marco had announced lunch was ready. He remembered they both grabbed bananas and gulping them down in route. The call had been an 'unknown rescue of child' but a gruff grumpy older man had met the squad and complained about kids playing in the abandoned property next to him. "They cut through my flower beds to get there and throw their trash from their parties into my yard." He grumbled as he took them over to point out several dilapidated buildings. "I've called the cops before on them when they've thrown rocks at me from the upstairs. The cops only run them off for a little while. They just come back again."

Roy listened patiently all the while his eyes scanned the buildings for any sign of activity. "So Mister?"

"Mister Kelmer, Ralph Kelmer." The man quickly supplied. Roy nodded, "Mister Kelmer, why did you call us? I mean instead of the police, why did you call us this time?"

Mr. Kelmer sighed, "I was on my way back in to do just that, they were laughing and calling out nasty things to me and suddenly there was this loud noise, like something really big fell and I heard a girl screaming so…." He shrugged.

Johnny sighed and pulled out the drug and trauma boxes while Roy grabbed the biophone and the O2. "Think we should call the guys for backup." Johnny stated and when Roy nodded he grabbed the mic and did just that. He came out of the cab with a frown. "Ok. They're on their way but I just remembered they were checking hydrants over off that new addition near Pine Square Mall."

Now Roy frowned, "That puts them a good 20 minutes away."

Johnny nodded and the two medics loaded up with the equipment. Mr. Kelmer watched them go then shaking his head turned back toward his house. He patted the shiny red truck now parked in his driveway as he passed it. "Hope those two young fellers don't find nothin' Don't like those kids playin' there but don't want no one hurt neither." He glanced at his watch and smiled, "Ooo, time for my checkers game with Max." He quickly re-entered his house, grabbed his hat and locked the door. "S' nice day, I'll just walk. Can't get the car out with their truck in the drive anyway." And he headed off down the street.

Johnny headed toward the largest building and Roy followed. Close now, they could better see the run down condition of what looked to have been quite an elegant house once. The porch creaked and dipped when Johnny stepped onto it and he froze before continuing, "Careful there." He warned his partner and Roy nodded. Johnny pushed the gaping door open and called out loudly, "Hello! Fire Department. Anybody here?" Silence. So, the two men pushed forward into a large entry way. Johnny emptied his hands and Roy did likewise. Johnny turned on the large flashlight he'd brought and shone it around. Roy grabbed the other flashlight and did the same. All the glows showed were beaten up and broken pieces of furniture, lots of cobwebs and dust.

Roy called out this time as Johnny moved watchfully toward the hallway they could now see. "Fire Department! Is anybody hurt?" he paused then added, "We're only here to help. Is there anybody here?"

"Roy." At Johnny's voice Roy immediately turned his attention toward his partner. Johnny nodded toward what his flashlight had revealed. "Dust has been disturbed here recently." He showed an area on the floor nearly free of the dust thick everywhere else.

Roy couldn't help but grin at his friend and teased, "So how good are you at tracking?" He actually knew his partner _**was**_ good at that, since it had been a part of his upbringing. Johnny threw a scowl at him and said, "I think it was three maybe four of them, they've been here within the last hour or so and one's a girl."

Roy's blue eyes widened as his mouth dropped open. "How . .. how . . ." he stuttered to his smirking partner. Johnny shook his head as he made tsking sounds. "Stop speaking Hollywood Indian Roy." he teased back.

Now Roy scowled, "That's not what I meant and you know it." Johnny giggled at his friend's expression. "OK smarty, share."

Johnny shrugged and swung his flashlight over the staircase. "See? There are two soda cans and two fastfood drinks. I can still see the condensation on the cups." Roy nodded as he could see it now as well. "Ok. How did you know one was a girl?"

Johnny grinned. "I don't any boy who would wear that." He let his light eliminate a bright red hair ribbon. Roy nodded in agreement. "OK Sherlock, any idea where they are now?"

Johnny giggled again, "Sherlock. I like that. I guess that makes you Watson huh?" Then he sighed, "No. Your guess is as good as mine."

Roy moved past him to shine his light further down the hallway. "You wanna start up there and I'll continue off this way?" He pointed into what looked like a archway into a large room. "If we don't find anything, we'll meet back here. Maybe the guys will be here by then and we 'll have more hands to search."

Johnny nodded. "By then the guys should be here." He clasped his friend on the shoulder as he passed him and made his way cautiously up the stairs. Roy watched him for a few moments then headed toward the arch.

At the top of the stairs, Johnny found another hallway. That opened up into a nice sitting area with opposite walls lined with shelves. Some books still sat in the shelves but most were empty. Beyond that was another hallway on one side and a door on the other. He mentally flipped a coin and headed to the door. He opened it and stepped into a large empty room. The flashlight revealed four more doors and shrugging he chose the one directly opposite him. This room had obviously once been a bedroom. The frame of a large bed dominated it. Two more doors and another archway appeared in his light's glow.

This time he opted for the archway and found himself in another parlor. Chairs with rotting upholstery lined the walls. He stepped into the room and saw a large piece of furniture lying on the floor. He hurried over to it. Most of the dust had been knocked off and he could see the dust on the floor was stirred up. The wrapper of a candy bar lay next to it. Johnny picked it up and ran a finger over the chocolate still on it. "Fresh." He muttered. He looked at the cabinet. "Bet that falling was what Mr. Kelmer heard.

Suddenly another loud crash shook the house. Johnny jumped in reaction and nearly dropped his flashlight. He distinctly heard his partner voice an expletive and his blood turned cold in his veins. "Roy!" he called. "Roy? You ok?"

He thought he heard a faint, "Johnny!" answer back. He spun on his heal and made his way quickly back out of that room. Worry for his partner, the confusing passages and doors and the swirling dust from his previous passing all combined to confound him. And the firefighter who rarely lost his way in any building burst back into the large bedroom and stopped cold, unsure of which of the passageways before him was the one he'd used coming in. He took a deep breath and yanked open one door only to find a large bathroom. He opened the next and thought he recognized the hallway which would lead back to the first room. "Roy!" He called out. "Hang on, Roy, I'm coming!" He stepped into the room.


	2. Chapter 2

OK. Here's the next chapter. Things are really cooking now! Enjoy!

Chapter 2

He sighed heavily then coughed as the action stirred the dust that had been lazily swirling in the air around him. His arms ached and he stretched them out as high as he could reach, trying to ease the muscle strain from holding them over his head. He tilted his wrist and tried reading his watch but the light was dim at best and the angle was wrong. He could tell the hands had moved significantly since he'd been trapped there in the floor but not exactly how long.

Carefully he inhaled again and bellowed his partner's name. Then he listened carefully. Like all the previous times, he heard only the creaks and groans of this cursed house. Fear tried to slither up his backbone. Why hadn't he answered? Was he somewhere trapped too? Or worse hurt and wondering where his partner was? For a moment he felt the terror of being trapped and alone but he shook himself physically, pushing it away again. They had called for the engine. Someone sometime soon was sure to come looking for them.

He shifted again, allowing his body to sag against the walls which both held him upright and trapped him. There was barely enough room in this hole for his body. He snickered; if he had been as big as say Foreman at 8's or even some of the other medics, like Animal Bellingham, he wouldn't have fallen all the way to the bottom. As it was, his arms had been up when he fell and were now trapped over his head, the narrowness of his snare barely clearing his shoulders, not allowing him to bring his arms down no matter how he had squeezed and struggled.

He looked up again, seeing the edge of the floor a mere tantalizing four feet above him. Again his temper took over and he cursed the house. Just what kind of place was this anyway? He'd opened doors only to see a brick wall two feet in front of him, a window had opened into a closet with moth-eaten clothes and mirrors were set around giving illusions of doorways that weren't there. Twice he'd tripped when the floor had tilted under his feet and once he stepped up onto what looked like a step up only to nearly fall when his foot when down level to his other foot still on the floor. He worked to get his anger and his breathing back under control. He wouldn't do anyone any good with it, including himself, and it would only serve to make him more tired than he already was. He bit his lip. Besides, he had a terrible feeling his partner would need him once he could finally get free. He shifted himself as much as he could to try to relax. Might as well rest awhile before he tried calling out again. Almost against his will, his eyes drifted shut and the medic slipped into sleep.

Mike Stoker quickly steered the massive engine around the stopped traffic and accelerated down the straight stretch of road. He chanced a glance sideways at his captain then sighed when he saw the dark eyes staring fixedly out the front as well as the white knuckled grip he had on the door. "Cap."

"Save it Stoker." The firm toned voice didn't deter him. He shook his head but kept his eyes on the road and the traffic he whizzed through.

"You know this is not your fault. You did everything by the rules. We had to stop for that accident; it happened right in front of us." The engineer glanced again at his leader, but Hank Stanley kept his gaze locked out the window, his face a stern mask. He tried again. "And it's not your fault that that new guy at dispatch didn't log in our redirected call so no other engine was sent to help them in our place." His voice dropped and took on a gentler note. "We're on our way now, Hank. We'll get there soon."

Slowly Cap's head turned and dark eyes pinned his engineer. "Four hours. It was four hours ago they called for help. You heard L.A., Mike. No one has heard anything out of them since they requested us. Neither one of them has answered L.A.s hails."

Mike nodded as he shifted gears. "What was their original call?"

"Unknown rescue of a child," Cap sighed as he wiped a hand down his face. God! He thought, an unknown call involving a kid. It could have been anything! What if it was a dangerous situation? What if it was a domestic? His over-active imagination brought horrifying images up in his mind of guns or knives and his paramedics held hostage or hurt or … no. He wouldn't even let his imagination go there. His hand went back to the door handle and he gripped it hard. "It must have been something more than the two of them could handle or Johnny wouldn't have called for us."

"You're right. And we'll help them." Mike's voice startled Cap slightly. He hadn't realized he'd spoken out loud. "We'll be at their location in another 5 minutes." He too, ground his teeth, angry at the obviously inexperienced dispatcher who had scrambled the call sheets and lost Engine 51's request that another engine report to aid Squad 51. He remembered how they'd all heard the captain's angry voice on the phone earlier. They had returned to the station after clearing the accident scene and were enjoying coffee and some of Marco's mother's pies when dispatch called asking if Squad 51 was in quarters. A flurry of calls later and Cap stormed into the kitchen, one look at his angry face had all three men on their feet. "Dispatch screwed up. No one ever responded to John and Roy and now they aren't responding. We're the closest available engine."

Chet looked at Mike on one side of him and Marco on the other, "Then what are we waiting for?" and four men dashed to the engine, fear of what they'd find when they found their missing crewmates making their hearts pound harder.

Mike slowed the engine as he made the turn into the residential area where dispatch had earlier sent the squad. "There!" Cap barked out, pointing off to his left. Mike nodded, seeing the bright red squad parked in front of an innocent looking house. As he pulled the engine along the curb in front, a police car squealed to a stop coming the opposite way. The two officers inside got out and trotted quickly to the engine. One, the older one, they recognized as Ezekiel Nass, Zeke to his friends. The other, a pock-faced pale skinned dirty blonde who looked all of twenty going on 15.

"Captain." The stocky man greeted. "Anything yet?"

Cap shook his head, "Just got here ourselves, dispatch said the original call was for an unknown rescue involving a child." The officer nodded and the firefighters got out of the engine. "Cap, the gears gone." Chet piped up and Mike turned to stare at the lineman. His face saying, 'we can all see that'. Chet shrugged and shifted nervously.

The officer looked at the squad and its open doors. "Can you tell if anything missing is out of the ordinary?"

Cap sighed at the pointlessness of the request but dutifully looked in the open compartments. "O2, drug box, trauma box—looks like the stuff they would usually grab is what's gone."

The officer Cap didn't know perked up, "Drug box? They had drugs?" He gave his partner a smirk. "Maybe this was a buy gone bad."

Zeke rolled his eyes in disgust, "Relax Rookie, they're medics; they're supposed to have drugs. It's part of their job."

The other man looked subdued but not convinced. As one Cap and Zeke walked up to the front door. The rookie followed slowly, his gaze trying to watch everything and everyone at the same time, his hand hovering over his gun. Cap knocked loudly and called out, "Fire Department."

No sound from within the house. He knocked harder. "Fire Department!" He tried the door and found it locked.

"Cap,"

He turned to Marco who gestured at the closed garage. "There's a car in there." Cap nodded. "Marco, Chet go around back. Check windows." The two nodded and headed off. He began looking into the windows at the front of the house. Although solid curtains blocked much of the room, the part he could see was sparsely decorated with no signs of anyone in trouble. In fact, there was no sign anyone was even home.

He shook his head at Zeke who was checking windows on the opposite side. Chet and Marco came running up from checking around the back. "Cap, no sign of anyone we could see. There is a sliding glass door in the back which is unlocked."

Zeke nodded, "We'll go in from there. No sense breaking a window we'll only have to pay for later." He led the others around the back, rolling his eyes at his trainee who followed them walking slightly sideways as if he expected to be ambushed any second. Cap matched strides with Zeke and when the cop glanced his way, he nodded his head toward the rookie—his expression questioning.

Zeke gave an exasperated sigh, "Yeah. I know. Kid thinks each call is some kinda S.W.A.T manuever."

Cap snorted. "How long's he been out of the academy?"

Zeke shook his head, "Two full weeks. And I've got him for at least another three months." He watched as the kid flattened himself against the wall while he scanned some bushes and heaved another sigh. "I've been sentenced to babysitting with no chance of parole." Raising his voice he called, "Dahl! Get your ass over here! This isn't Adam 12!"

The rookie colored slightly and hurried next to his partner, "Place looks clear, Nass."

Zeke rolled his eyes at Cap and slid the door open, calling out loudly, "Hello! Police officer! Did someone call for help?" Still no answer and he walked on into the house. Cap, Marco, Chet and the kid followed. Mike had stayed out by the vehicles to keep an eye open for the missing paramedics. Once inside, the men continued calling out as they quickly moved through the small house. Soon they regrouped in the living/dining area. "Cap, the place is empty. No sign of anything anywhere." Chet announced as he looked around uneasily. Although he'd never give voice to his worry, it was plain in his body language.

Cap sighed, "Well there has to be some explanation somewhere. Gage and DeSoto didn't . . ."

"Hey! What's goin' on here? Who're you people?" A loud voice cut him off. As one the six men whirled to face the newcomer. Dahl instantly went into a crouch even as his gun cleared his holster. Zeke was faster and his hand slapped down on his jumpy partner, "Watch it, idiot!"

Ralph Kelmer froze, his eyes blinking owlishly behind his glasses as they fastened on the gun. His face blanched and sweat broke out on his upper lip. "You . . . you kin have whatever you want. Just . . just take it and leave please." He shakily told them.

Zeke raised his hands in a calming motion, "Relax sir. I'm a police officer."

Cap watched as some color returned to the older man's face and he swallowed heavily. Cap felt himself relax slightly. For a moment there, he thought the man would have a heart attack. Now the wrinkled face was turning toward each man as a scowl appeared. "Police? And firemen? Why're you in my house? Scarin' an old man half ta death. Why, I coulda had a heart attack!" He grumbled as he wiped his brow with a handkerchief pulled from his rear pocket.

" almost thought he was," Chet mumbled and then gave an "ooof" as Marco's elbow found his ribs.

Cap stepped forward, "Sir, I'm Captain Stanley, Los Angeles County Fire Department. Do you live here?"

The man nodded, "Ralph Kelmer. Pleased ta met ya, Cap'ian. Yep, been living here for nearly 40 years now." Cap nodded tersely and inhaled to ask another question, but Kelmer spoke first, "Say, you guys here ta help those two young fellas from that little firetruck out front?"

Cap's eyes widened, "Yes! Those are my men. They were responding to a call from here. Do you know about that?"

Mr. Kelmer shuffled past Chet and Marco and dropped a set of keys into a tray on the kitchen counter. "Sure 'nough do. I called them."

"You did?" Now Zeke took over. "The call said unknown rescue for a child?"

Mr. Kelmer nodded and told them exactly what he'd told Johnny and Roy. Zeke was writing in his notebook and nodding. "And they left here headed over toward the house next door?"

Mr. Kelmer nodded, "Yep. They was carrin' some stuff they took from their truck and the younger fella, he had some rope coiled on his shoulder."

Cap could feel his pulse pick up as Zeke now asked, "And about what time was that. Do you remember?"

Mr. Kelmer again nodded, "Yep. 'Bout 2:30. I knowed so 'cause I always meet Max in the park for a game o' checkers at 3:00 on Wednesdays. Lessin the weathers bad, then we meet at that Café in the square. I knowed it was then 'cause I checked my watch and knew I'd've just 'nough time ta make it ifin I hurried." He waved toward the front of his house. "I couldna drive 'cause that little firetruck was blockin' my car in."

"Cap, that's been over three hours ago and no one's heard from them." Chet blurted out.

Mr. Kelmer looked at the three firemen closely, his watery eyes squinting. "You mean them young fellas aint come outta there yet?" He made a tsking noise with his tongue as he sank into an armchair, his head slowly shaking from side to side. "I knew I shoulda warned 'em."

Zeke's cop sense began silent alarms. "Warned them about what, Mr. Kelmer?"

The squinted eyes focused tightly on the officer as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder toward the property next door. "That ol' place is Toby Falkenthal's house." At the continued blank looks and shrugs he sighed. "Toby thought o' himself as some sorta prankster; he loved fun houses and magic tricks and all that illusion stuff. He had lots of money from his folks and not much sense sos he built that house special like."

"What do you mean?" Cap asked, a cold feeling spreading down his back. Just what had his paramedics gotten themselves into now? But before Mr. Kelmer could reply, Chet burst out with, "You mean Toby The JokeMaster? Wow! I read about his place." He looked excitedly at the men around him. "His house is full of the coolest stuff; doors that open into windows, windows that face brick walls, optical illusions, stairways that go up to only go back down, furniture rigged to move by itself!"

It was clear his excitement was growing by the second, his eyes sparkled as he shook his head; his face beaming with admiration, "What a great prankster! He'd hold these great parties with food that wasn't what it looked like like you'd think it was a strawberry only it would be ground meat with bbq sauce or or like a whole chicken that was actually a fruit paste made up to look just like roasted chicken." Chet could barely breathe as he expounded. "I heard he had this one room where the floor was clear thick glass and there was this projector in the ceiling. When you stepped into the room, the projector came on and showed something like a burning pit or a bunch of snakes or the like on the floor." He laughed heartily, "Once the person started freaking out, he'd turn off the projector and all you'd see was a pit below you." He slapped his knee and howled as he imagined it. "Just think! You'd be safe standing there but you'd freak thinking you were gonna fall any minute." He didn't seem to notice the others were looking at him with various expressions of disgust, dismay, and shock.

Mr. Kelmer was frowning as he nodded. "Yep. Worked too well. One o' his guest had a heart attack in that there room. Didn't have no fancy doctor firemen back then. Guy died and his family sued Falkenthal for every penny he owned. Lawyer fees an' court costs broke him. He moved out an' the place has been wastin' away ever since."

Marco turned toward his captain, worry in his brown eyes, "Cap, you don't suppose some of those booby traps . . ."

Cap sighed heavily, "That's exactly what I'm thinking, Marco."

Zeke nodded as he followed that train of thought. "Some of it might still work and others could be just worn out enough to be really dangerous."

Mr. Kelmer nodded as he wiped his glasses with his handkerchief, "That's my thoughts too. That place is dangerous, shoulda been torn down years ago. I've been complainin' about it to everyone I can." He put his glasses back on his face and shook his finger at the men in front of him. "You mark my words. Them two young fellas met trouble over there, I betcha." He shook his head sadly then glared at Zeke. "I hate ta think of them bein' hurt but maybe ifin they are, someone will finally do somethin' about that place!"

Zeke sighed as he gave a noncommittal nod, knowing that the old guy was probably right. He just hoped the two paramedics were only trapped somewhere and not hurt. He glanced at his watch. He knew enough to know that untreated injures were dangerous and it had been now nearly 4 hours since the two had told their dispatch they were on scene.

Cap was thinking the same thing even as he straightened himself up. "Alright. I'll let LA know they are here and give them a heads up on what is happening."

Mr. Kelmer opened his front door for the men and followed them out. Zeke immediately went over to his car and began making a report on his radio. Mike came forward, concern darkening his blue eyes. "Cap?" was all he questioned.

Cap sighed and picked up the mic. He filled LA in on what was happening and put them as unavailable until John and Roy were found. Mike listened to the report and turned to Marco. "So they're somewhere in there?" He looked over at the massive structure. Somehow in the receding sun the place loomed large and foreboding.

Chet was looking at the house too, his eyes dancing with excitement. "Just think. The JokeMaster's playhouse. Wow! Gage is so lucky! I can't wait to get in there and ….."

Marco stared at his friend in wide-eyed disgust. "Chet! Didn't you hear what Mr. Kelmer said!"

Chet blinked blankly at his stationmates. "Yeah. I did. We get to go explore The Joke Master's playhouse."

"We are doing a search in an abandoned and potentially hazardous property for two paramedics who have been missing for almost four hours and very possibly need help." Mike's voice was stern. Chet looked at him then at Marco who was still glaring. "Chet, Johnny and Roy haven't made radio contact of any kind since they went in there. Do you think they're just on a fieldtrip?" Marco's voice was harsh with his own fear.

Chet's moustache drooped as he thought about what he'd been told. In his excitement over finding out he would be seeing for himself one of the places he'd only dreamed of, he forgot his missing… and possibly injured friends. Now suddenly his imagination turned the fun of falling furniture and exits leading nowhere into potential traps for a unsuspecting rescue man. He reached into the engine and flipped up his jumpseat, pulled out two heavy duty flashlights and turned to where the others watched him. "Well" he blurted out. "Whadda ya waiting for? Let's go already!"

Mike and Marco exchanged glances and Marco rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath in Spanish as he grabbed up an axe. Soon four firefighters and two cops, loaded down with flashlights, headed across the yard.

Just as Johnny had before, Mike stepped on the porch and felt it give under his weight. He warned the others as they cautiously pushed wider the massive front door. The transition from the fading light outside to the darker interior was enough to momentarily blind them and they paused in the entryway to regain their sight.

There was the sound of someone hitting something then Marco's voice called out, "Dios! Cap! Look!" The others blinked until they could see where Marco stood staring down at his feet.

"The drug box, and biophone." Mike identified the familiar pieces of equipment. "They were definitely in here."

Cap turned on his flashlight and the others followed suit. He cast the light toward the stairway, seeing the same things the two paramedics had seen. "Looks like Mr. Kelmer was right. Someone was in here." Then he took a deep breath and called out, "Roy? John? Where are you?"

Silence answered him and although he had hoped for an answer he had a sinking feeling that would have been too easy. He turned to the others. "Let's split up into groups of two. Sound out loud if you see any sign of either them or the kids."

The others nodded and surprisingly Marco stepped up to Cap's side leaving Chet with Mike. He caught his engineers eyes and Mike answered with a eyeroll. "I guess I'll team with Chet." He dryly announced. Cap nodded, "Alright. Zeke why don't you and Dahls go that way." He pointed his flashlight toward a hallway angling toward the left. "And Mike? You go upstairs while Marco and I will head that way." He pointed off toward the large arched doorway on the right, unknowingly following Roy's path. "Mark your ways and the rooms you check."

"Umm, Cap?" Zeke started but Mike reaching into his turnout pocket and pulled out two stubs of heavy chalk. He grinned his thanks and he and Dahl headed off.

Mike and Chet started up the stairs and Cap chuckled faintly as Chet's voice floated down to them as he once more began telling of the marvels of Toby's Playhouse. Then the moment of joviality ended as he contemplated his missing paramedics. Once more he bellowed, "Fire Department! Anyboby here? Roy? John? Answer me!" As the two headed off, they could hear the others also calling.

His body jerked as his muscles involuntarily spasmed and this time the force was enough to jolt him to consciousness. He lifted his head from where it rested on his knees and looked blearily around. Darkness surrounded him and that confused him. Was he in the dorm? Funny, this didn't feel like his bunk. And if it was, why was it so hard? He shifted and pain flared white hot up from his leg. He gasped and stiffened under its onslaught. That action only made it worse and he felt nauseous. He panted, trying to keep from vomiting. He knew he was suffering from shock, the shivers, the chills, the dizziness, nausea, that dry feeling in his mouth. He knew he had to keep what fluids he still had in his body, in his body.

Once the nausea subsided and the pain was once more a dull throbbing, he felt as far down his left leg as he could. He could feel dampness and knew he must still be bleeding. He tightened the belt around his thigh and out of reflex looked at his watch to check the time on when to release it some. He sighed as the fractured crystal looked back at him, preventing him from seeing the hands.

Once more, as it had each time he was awake, his thoughts turned to his partner. Where was he? Was he hurt somewhere too? And where was the engine? Why hadn't he heard any sounds of anyone in the house above him? Since he had no answers to his questions and contemplating them would only make his heart beat faster, exacerbating his symptoms, he forced himself to calm down. He needed a distraction…. Ummmm. His game! Now let's see…. He was on U. Ummmm….

Unique.

Ultimate.

Umbrella… no not a descriptive word. Not allowed.

Unhappy.

Useless….


	3. Chapter 3

"Mike! Look out!" Chet's voice hit the Engineer just as his hand jerked the back of the taller man's turnout coat. The engineer stumbled but his wide blue eyes were looking at the hole where he'd just been about to put his foot. He staggered slightly as he caught his balance then looked at Chet.

"Thanks. That's twice I owe you."

Chet swallowed hard and took a deep breath, holding it as he forced his heart to calm down. This was the fourth such incident that could have cause serious injury. Where Chet had been amused at the maze like hallways and had laughed at the fake door, this hole that could have caused a broken leg, the chair that had raced across the room and slammed into his ribs and the open window that had slammed shut, breaking the glass and sending shattered fragments at the two men had honestly scared him. Suddenly Toby the Joke Master's Playhouse had lost much of its former appeal.

"I hope we find the guys soon." Chet muttered, warily eyeing the room they now entered. He'd learned to take nothing at face value in this mad place.

Mike nodded, "Me too. And what about the kids they came in for?"

Chet paused in mid-step. He hadn't even thought of that. He shook his head, "God. I hope they all are alright."

He slumped back against the dirt wall at his back. Shivers shook his body. His left hand flopped down and his hand struck something hard. He slowly turned his head and looked at it, his motions sluggish and clumsy. He blinked as he tried to get his foggy brain to think. Oh. Yeah. It was the camera thingy. He'd already checked it out before. He was glad he hadn't fallen on top of that. Bad enough his leg had caught on it when he fell. His leg. That reminded him and he felt down his leg toward the calf. It still felt wet. Was he still bleeding? Or bleeding again? He didn't know. He sighed, wishing his flashlight hadn't died. He really should . . . . check…...

He lifted his head and blinked. He had been going to do something. Something important? He gave a faint shrug. Oh well. If it really was important, he'd remember it. Wouldn't he?

His hand rested on the flashlight and he sighed. Guess it was time to holler out again. He took a deep breath and shouted for all he was worth. "Heeeeeeyyyy! Somebody! Heeeeeelllllllppppp." He panted at the effort that cost him. His voice had sounded strange—kinda raspy as it echoed around in his dungeon. Well. Someone would find him. He picked up the flashlight and smacked it against the metal wreck by his side. He paused, listening. He repeated his actions then stopped. What was he doing? He was tired and it was dark. If it was dark then he should sleep. Must sleep when you can, being a fireman. You never knew when the tones would ….. go …..off…..

Dahl stopped, putting his hands up on the ceiling to give his back a break as he turned toward his partner. "Your turn to choose." Zeke frowned at the two doors in front of them. Dahl's choice had landed them in the hellish corridor. It had started out wide and tall and had rapidly changed until it was too low to stand up in fully and too tall to get on all fours. So one was left walking in a hunched over posture that was torture on back muscles. He waved a hand toward the right. "Let's try that one and hope it's the "right" door."

Dahl grinned as he marked the side with an arrow to indicate their direction and opened. Zeke sighed as a brick wall appeared in the flashlight's glow. "Guess it's not." He mumbled and turned to the other door. He opened it only to find a window. Beyond the window was more brick. Zeke muttered a curse, thoroughly hating this house. "I guess we go back." He slammed the door in his aggravation and turned back the way they had come.

"Wait." Dahl mumbled. He had turned his own flashlight back on now and was shining it over the brick wall behind the "right" door. He stepped forward and put out his hand. A smile broke out over his face and he took another step…. And disappeared!

Zeke's eyes went wide as his heart began to race. "Marshel!" He hollered, hearing his voice echoed oddly down the corridor they'd just come down. To his immense relief the rookie's head reappeared, "Yeah Nass?" he questioned. Relief washed away as anger replaced it. He took a deep breath, ready to blast the trainee over taking chances in this hellhole when he stopped again. His trainee's head had reappeared. But.

Just his head.

Zeke blinked. Yep. Still just a head with the puzzled looking eyes watching him. "H . ..how?"

Then all of Marshel Dahl was there. Zeke took a staggering step back and rubbed at his face. "Ok. That does it. This place has officially freaked me out." He muttered.

"Gee Nass. You ok?" Dahl came toward his partner, his face showing concern. Zeke took a deep breath to center himself. "I'm fine. Now. Let's go." He turned around and headed back up the corridor. He'd only taken two steps before he realized Dahl wasn't beside him. He turned, his mouth opening to demand his rookie's compliance when Dahl's obviously confused voice asked, "Don't you want to try that other way first?"

He stepped back over to the rookie. "What other way?" he growled. Dahl extended his right arm… and it disappeared from the shoulder down. "This one."

Zeke's eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open. "How the hell are you doing that!" He bellowed.

Dahl grinned, his face showing his excitement. "it's an optical illusion! See?"

Zeke stepped up next to the rookie and now could see that what looked like a solid brick wall was really two overlapping partial brick walls, one set back from the other. Now he could see another narrower corridor angling off to the left. With a sigh and a shrug he headed down it as he ordered. "Mark it and let's go."

He sighed and lifted one leg as high as he could in his narrow prison, putting all his weight on just one foot. When he could no longer stand that, he shifted to do the same on the opposite leg. He desperately wished he could sit down but the most the narrow walls would let him do was a sorta squat and that only made his legs go numb. The pain in his upraised arms had finally died out to just a numbness. That worried him more. He knew with his arms held up over his head like they were, he wasn't getting proper blood flow to his hands. He tried flexing his fingers but had no idea if they were moving or not.

He gritted his teeth at the pain from his legs and glanced up at his watch. By what he could see of the hands he estimated he had been trapped now over five hours. He knew that there probably wasn't any permanent damage being done yet to his body but his muscles sure ached.

Once more he called out. "Hey! Anybody out there?" He paused, not even breathing as he thought he heard the faint sound of another voice. Excitement filled him, increasing his heart rate. Finally! He took another deep breath and called out again. "Here! I'm here, partner! Johnny! Down here!"

Cap put his hand out, signaling for Marco to stop. Marco turned dark worry-filled eyes on his captain. "Cap, we've been searching for them for nearly two hours. And there's no way of telling how much more of this nightmare we have left to search."

Cap sighed heavily. "I know. And truthfully? I'm not so sure now that when we find them, they won't be hurt." He gave a firm nod as he made a decision. He switched back to the central channel on the black box he clutched then raised the HT to his mouth, "LA this is Engine 51.

"Go ahead 51." Came the ever calm voice of Sam Lanier.

"LA we are still searching the Falkenthal house for Squad 51 and their victim. Request another engine company for additional manpower and another squad." Cap stated.

"Stand by 51."

Marco and Cap met eyes at the unusual request then the HT announced. "Engine 51 switch to channel 2 for battalion 14."

Cap swallowed as he did as requested. "This is engine 51." He spoke into the box.

"Engine 51, this is Chief McConnikee. Give me a status report."

Cap sighed at hearing his boss on the line but he was too worried over his men to get paranoid like he usually did.

"Chief, how much do you know already?

"I know your crew is there along with a couple cops. I know that house is supposed to be some sort of mansion with some false rooms. That's about it."

Cap's gaze flicked to Marco. "That's the clean version. This place has hundreds of rooms with false doors, windows to nowhere and traps. We've tripped everything from walls that flip around, windows that slam shut, stairs that dead-end into walls, and pieces of furniture that move on its own. The lighting is practically non-existent, just what we are carrying and we have to go slow because of danger to ourselves as well as the visibility. We can't always call out because some of the rooms distort sounds."

Cap could almost see the scowl that would cross McConnikee's face. "That sounds much worse than we were lead to believe."

"It is. We've split up into three groups of two and I think we've only covered about a third of this place. There are so many pockets in the walls as well as false ceilings and floors there is no way to tell just what is all in this place. Two of my men have already received slight injures from the traps."

"You're sure DeSoto and Gage are somewhere in there?"

"Chief, we found their equipment set up in the entry way. But we've found no sign of either one of them yet."

"Alright. It sounds like you've got things as much in hand as you can. I'm sending out the back up you requested and I'm heading out there myself." There was a pause then in a gentler voice McConnikee added, "We'll find them, Hank."

Cap nodded as he ended the call and switched back to the normal channel. The HT immediately began calling out another alarm to their location. Cap grunted his approval then switched it to the channel the three teams were using. "Cap 51 to teams. LA is sending another engine and another squad out to help. I'm heading back to the front to brief them." He waited until he heard Mike then Zeke acknowledge his call then put the HT back into his pocket. Cap looked over at Marco who was rubbing his arm. "How's that arm, Marco?"

Marco flashed a smile at his boss. "Still there. Man, I didn't expect that door to slam shut like that on us."

Cap shook his head, "Neither did I. I'm just glad you were able to get mostly through it."

Marco nodded. Cap looked around the room they were standing in and sighed. "I guess I should head back toward the front. Someone will have to explain to Station 39 what they're up against." Marco nodded gloomily. He didn't want to back track; he wanted to keep going, to find his friends. By the time they made it back to the front door, they could hear sirens getting closer.

Since LA had given the second units the corrected address, the engine and squad pulled up the long driveway and were soon parked in front of the house. Cap stepped forward and greeted his counterpart.

"What sorta trouble those two of yours gotten into now?" Eugene "Gene" Price shook Hank's offered hand then his teasing faltered at the tired concerned dark eyes that looked at him.

Cap sighed as he wiped his hand down his face. "Call your men over here, Gene. Might as well tell them all at once."

With a look of concern on his own face he did so. Soon six men stood in front of him. "OK." Cap started. "Here's what we're up against. From the outside this place looks like a three maybe four story building." He waited as six pair of eyes scrutinized the structure in front of them then nodded, turning their attention back to 51's captain.

"Like I said, from the outside. Once you get in there, forget that notion. The place is cut up into a architect's nightmare. Some rooms have an 8 foot ceiling and others have a 20 ft. The walls aren't walls and the doors and windows aren't either."

Now the six men shifted from one foot to the other and muttered, looking at each other in confusion. "Come again 51?" Gene questioned.

Cap nodded. "Just what I said. Seems this place was built to specifications to be some sort of twisted parody of a funhouse" He then went on to explain what they'd already found in the time they had been searching. As he did, he could see doubt, surprise and worry on the faces in front of them. He ended with, "we've been using channel 15 for contact and making reports to each other every 20 minutes. We've also been using chalk to both mark areas already searched and arrows on the paths we've taken. If the arrow has a hash mark, it means the path has been cleared as safe—or as safe as we can tell."

Gene's face had gotten darker as he listened. Trap doors? Furniture that raced across rooms to slam into an unprepared rescuer? Windows that were doors into rooms? Hollow walls? Hallways that were painted to look like rooms? What kinda twisted mind thought up this revulsion? "Hank? Have you found any sign of your men? Or the kids they were sent in for?" He was afraid of the answer.

Hank shook his head. "Not since the entry way. Their gear is right in front and there were drinking cups sitting on the stairway. No calls on the HT have been acknowledged and although we've called repeatedly they've not answered. We've not been too concerned about that, since some of those rooms echo like crazy and others seem to be sound proof. My engineer was calling in a room right next to the one I was in and I didn't hear him until I opened a window."

Marv Franklin, the senior 39 paramedic, had been in the same class as DeSoto. He knew the 51 paramedics were top notch. He glanced warily at the massive structure, wondering that if DeSoto had been out of contact for now over six hours what condition they would find the two in. He took a deep breath and mentally sent up a prayer that they were only trapped and not hurt; their golden hour was long gone and any injury—even a minor one—could have serious complications. Shock was just one, but it was a deadly one.

"Alright Cap. How do you want to do this?" He asked looking at his partner and seeing the same thoughts had obviously crossed his mind as well since he was frowning at the front door as if to force it to divulge the house's reluctant guests.

Gene turned to Hank, clearly giving his control as first captain on scene. Hank sighed. "I think it's best that you two," He nodded to the paramedics, "stay out of the house. One of you can be at the front with our guys gear and the other at the back door with your own."

Franklin's partner, a new graduate named Nate Wesley frowned at the 51's captain and opened his mouth but stopped when Marv agreed. "I think you're right Cap. If we stay outta that horror house we can better respond to which ever team needs us then if we're somewhere lost in there too." From the corner of his eye Marv saw Nate process that and give a firm nod. He gave a secret smile. Nate had proven to him that while he might be initially impulsive, if the situation was explained to him he was quick to see. Proving Marv's thoughts Nate spoke up. "I'll take the back. Marv?"

Marv nodded his agreement and the two headed back to the squad to gather their gear.

"What about the rest of my guys?" Gene asked.

"How about we add two more teams." Hank suggested. Gene nodded. "Brooks, you're with Morales." He nodded to his engineer who nodded back as the Hispanic lineman grinned at him. "Barnes, you're with me. Put your HT's on our contact channel and head out. And all of you," They paused as one and looked back at the two captains, "be careful. Take nothing for face value in there." They nodded and headed off.

Cap sighed and looked at Marco who had sat on the porch as instructions were given. Now he stood and gave a wan smile to his captain. "Once more into the breech, dear friend?" He asked.

In spite of himself Cap gave a chuckle. "Funny," he angled an eyebrow at his lineman, "I never took you for a Shakespeare kinda guy."

Marco blushed slightly, "I'm not really. But my momma is a big Laurence Olivier fan." He shrugged.

"Aaah." Cap acknowledged as he once more entered the house. Marco followed frowning. He hadn't quite told his captain the truth. Yes, his mother did like Olivier. And he wasn't a real big fan of Shakespeare but the speeches in the movie had move him as a younger man to read the book and he'd memorized some of it for a class. Now, heading back into the unknown, concerned for his friends he couldn't help but recall the next line. _**Or close the wall up with our English dead. **_A chill passed through him and he sent up a quick prayer.

Just inside, the two paused to let their eyes adjust. Marv looked up from where he was inspecting 51's paramedic gear. He smiled at the two and opened his mouth to speak when both his and Cap's HT squawked loudly. Cap yanked it out of his pocket with a mild curse. But before he could reprimand what he thought was a prank, the excited voice of Zeke Nass came on. "Cops to other search teams. We got one of your paramedics! We found him!"

Cap pushed the button even as his eyes met Marco's hopeful ones. "Zeke, this is Hank. Who do you have? Where is he? How is he?"

"He's trapped in a narrow hole in the floor. He says he doesn't think he's hurt bad. We can't tell either. He's about four feet into the floor." Came the answer.

Marv grabbed up the coil of rope and the biophone. Marco quickly grabbed the drug box and the trauma kit. In his excitement Cap didn't realize Zeke answered each question but one. That being which of his missing paramedics had now been found.

The HT spoke again. "I can see some of your markings just beyond where we are. I'm sending Dahl toward the door to get you. Look for him."

Three nervous men stood in the entry way, their eyes shifting from each room and the staircase, looking for any sign of the younger cop. Finally they heard a faint scuff and a loud curse. Cap's head whipped to the right. "That way." He ordered and they started off. They had only cleared two rooms when they heard Dahl shout in front of them. "I see you! Come through that window on your left!"

Marv shook his head even as 51's captain threw up the sash and began climbing through the narrow window. "Crazy place indeed. Windows going from room to room."

Marco glanced at him. "You haven't seen anything yet. Just be on your toes." Marco climbed through next and helped hold boxes while Marv squeezed his way through. He shook his head as he finally stood up. "Boy, if my shoulders had been any wider, I wouldn't have made it." Marco nodded as the paramedic took back some of the gear. Quickly they followed the very excited rookie. "We went down this weird brick path and found this indoor gazebo and beyond that were two doors. We opened one and there was this room that looked like a library, you know bookshelves all over and one was half fallen over. I'd just told Nass that it was lucky that didn't hit anyone and then we heard this voice calling." He shook his head, "I tell you this place has me so creeped out I nearly jumped out of my skin. But we started calling back and we found him!"

"How is he trapped? Who is it?" Cap barked. The rookie stopped and they realized they were in a large room filled with bookshelves. Zeke was kneeling on the floor, peering down at something. Dahl pointed to him. "See for yourself." He told them.

Cap, Marv and Marco moved quickly forward. As they did, they could see Zeke knelt next to a hole that was more of an opening in the floor, perfectly square and only about 25 x 25 inches. "My God." Cap exclaimed as he dropped to his knees. Within he saw sandy covered hair about 4 feet down and a familiar albeit hoarse voice say, "Cap? Cap is that you?"

Cap blinked quickly in relief, "Yeah, Yeah Roy it's me. I've got Marco and Franklin of 39's here with me."

Roy tried to angle his head back enough to see but he could barely make out figures just out of his sight. "Brought the cavalry huh?"

Marv chuckled, "Yep. 39's to the rescue." He joked as he tried to reach down and grab one of the arms above Roy's head. He shook his head. "Roy? Where are you hurt?"

There was a pause, then, "Not really hurt. I've been standing on my feet for hours and my arms are numb. I've tried to move them as much as I could. I didn't really fall, the floor just sorta….went down. Like a fast elevator."

Cap shook his head. "What happened?" Roy told him about suspecting there were at least three of four kids in the house and how he and Johnny had split up to look. "I walked in here and walked over toward that window and as I did the bookcase fell toward me. I backed up real quick and the next thing I knew I was falling through the floor."

Marco sighed. Marv was looking over the situation. "Well?" Cap asked.

"It's gonna be tricky. With his arms up like that we can't get a rope around his waist. And I don't want to pull on his arms; I don't know what kinda damage they've sustained but I can beat they're gonna hurt like hell."

Roy sighed. "I figured as much myself. Maybe, maybe you can drop a noose and I can step into it."

Marv nodded. "Might work." He began getting the rope ready.

As the firemen and his partner were busy with the guy in the floor, Marshel Dahl was exploring the room. When he heard the paramedic tell about how the bookcase fell, he moved toward it, searching the floor for what had to have been a trigger. He found it and walked carefully around it over to the bookcase. He examined it, seeing that it looked just like any sturdy wooden bookcase. He looked around the back and saw a series of metal brackets and pulleys. He walked back around to the front and stood there, his hands on his hips. "Better not leave this like this. It could finish falling and hurt someone." He muttered.

Zeke heard his trainee muttering and turned his head to see what he was doing. "What are you muttering about over there Rookie?" Then his eyes widened as he watched his trainee push hard at the side of the bookcase. "NO! Don't tou .. . "

Before the words even left his mouth, three things happened all at once; the bookcase suddenly righted itself, hitting the wall with a solid bang, the paramedic shot up into the air as the lift in the floor rose rapidly back into its position and the three men gathered around the hole flew backwards.

Just as quick, they recovered. Marv dropped the rope to grab the now writhing paramedic. Cap sat back up and so did Marco. Zeke glared at Dahl, who gave a weak smile and a shrug. "I got him up, didn't I?"

Zeke pointed to a spot over by the door. "Sit! And don't touch anything!" Dahl, with his head down, did as commanded.

Roy rolled out onto the floor, his eyes clinched tightly shut as pain flared down his arms and across his shoulders. He could hear Marco calling Rampart on the biophone and felt Marv's gentle hands on him.

"Easy Roy. I know the pains gotta be excruciating. I won't take a BP yet but you know they're gonna ask for one." Marv soothed.

Roy nodded, knowing the other paramedic was right. He felt fingers on his neck. "Not bad. Little fast but I'm sure part of that was a result of the ride you just took." Roy gave a short laugh. "Yeah. Whatta rush. Johnny probably woulda loved it."

At the mention of his partner's name Cap and Marco exchanged glances but said nothing. Roy hadn't seemed to notice yet that his partner wasn't with them.

Marv felt for a pulse in both wrists and nodded. "You've got peripheral pulses. It's a little weaker than the carotid but not by much. How about your feet?"

"Just feel like I've been on them forever." Roy stuttered out. Marv checked them over. "Yep. Everything here seems ok. Think I can get a BP now?"

Roy barked a laugh, "You can try. Bet it's sky high."

Marv carefully wrapped the cuff around Roy's upper arm, wincing as Roy's head snapped back and he gave a choked off cry of pain. Marv read off the numbers he had collected to Marco who repeated them to the doctor. Before Marco could translate what Rampart said, Roy had sat up and was looking around. He smiled at his captain. "Boy, am I glad to see you. Have you been looking for us all this time?"

Cap hesitated, a guilty look crossing his face. "Uhhh, Roy, about that. There was a mix up at dispatch. We had a traffic accident happen right in front of us and had to respond. We radioed for someone else to be sent to help you and …welll…"

Roy froze, his blue eyes locked on his captain's. Cap sighed and continued, "No one was sent and we didn't know until LA called looking for you at the station. We….uhhhhh… we got here as quick as we could. It had been four hours since you called."

"Four hours?" Roy repeated his face showing his shock. Marv moved forward "Now, Roy, calm down."

Roy shook him off, "How long have you been looking since you got here?" His voice was sharp. Cap ducked his head, "About two hours."

Roy looked down at his now bright red hands. They had a funny mottled look and were slightly swollen as blood and fluids rushed back into them. Pain throbbed up from them, up his arms and across his shoulders. "Six Hours." He whispered. "Six hours I was trapped down there." He looked over to the spot where the lift was. Now that he knew the location, he could make out the seams. Suddenly his eyes opened wider and he looked around the room, taking in each person there. Someone was missing. With growing fear in his eyes he turned back to his captain. "Where's Johnny!" He demanded.

Cap looked his paramedic straight in the eye. Roy could see the guilt/worry/remorse in the brown depths. "We haven't found him yet." Came the soft answer Roy was afraid he'd hear.


	4. Chapter 4

Mike and Chet were cautiously creeping along a zigzagging hallway. The walls were slanted inward at about head height and it made walking at any quick pace difficult. But neither man wanted to walk the area any faster than they were. They didn't trust the house.

"Man, this reminds me of a movie I heard about. The house was alive and trying to kill the people in it." Chet moaned as he watched the walls, the ceiling, the floor. He was exhausted with watching.

"Shut up Kelly!" Mike barked out in a subdued tone. Chet looked at the engineer in surprise then Mike added, "Don't give this place any ideas."

Chet blinked at him then smiled. "Awww good one. You had me going for a while there, Stoker."

Mike looked at him, his face total straight. "Who said I was joking?" He then turned back around and continued their slow creep. Chet stood dumbfounded, blinking his eyes in bewilderment. Half of him wanted to laugh and tell Mike he got him again; the other half was terrified Mike was right. Gulping he hastened to catch up with his search partner, not wanting to be alone in this creepy place.

Mike paused and gave a great sigh. Chet nearly plowed into his back but caught himself. He peered around the taller man's shoulder reluctant to see what this not-so-funhouse had thrown at them now. Instead he smiled.

"Looks like the end of this hall." Mike mumbled as he looked at the large mirror hanging on the wall in front of them. He began running his hands along the mirror edge and the wall. They'd found out before that just because it looked like a dead end didn't mean it was.

Chet started eyeing the floor around them and the corridor. He pushed on anything that looked slightly like a protrusion. Suddenly they heard a click. "Ahhh, found it." Chet crowed then yelped and grabbed Mike who flung his arms out in panic as the floor under them dropped rapidly.

They rode the platform down into another room, blinking at flashlights that illuminated them. "Gee Stoker. Nice of you to ….uhhhhhh…..drop in!" Came a deep voice followed by a chuckle. Mike and Chet squinted into the light. "Who's there?"

"Oh, sorry. You kinda surprised us." The voice replied and the lights were dropped so that they could see two other turnout coated men. Mike blinked, "Brooks? That you?"

Erik Brooks nodded at his fellow engineer. He waved toward the two still crouched before them. "You wanna get off that thing before you have a return trip?"

Mike and Chet hastily moved away from the spot they were and all four men watched as the "floor" raced upward to become a ceiling. Jorge Morales shuddered. "I don think I'd like that."

Chet smacked his shoulder, "Awwww, it wasn't so bad."

The Hispanic eyed him, "Yeah. That's why you was wrapped tighter around Stoker than my sister with her fiancé."

Both Stoker and Brooks snorted at that and Chet had the good graces to give a nod. "Ok. It did freak me out some." He looked warily around them. "This whole place creeps me out."

Brooks and Morales met eyes with a nod. "I can see that. We've only been searching for about 10 minutes and I've already got the spooks." Brooks stated.

Mike opened his mouth to add something when the two HTs made a squelching sound. Mike frowned as he pulled his HT out. "Who the hell is …." He started but froze as an excited voice declared. "Team Cops to other search teams. We got one of your paramedics! We found him!"

All four men stared at the HT in Mike's hand as they followed the conversation between Zeke and Hank. Once they had finished, four sets of eyes looked up at each other. "I wonder who they found?" Chet murmured. "He didn't say who they found!" He reached to grab the HT away from Mike to ask just that question but Mike easily held the HT away. "Wait a while!" He hissed.

Brooks nodded his head, "Yeah. They'll tell us as soon as they can check the scene out." Jorge sighed heavily and dropped onto the floor. "I'm not moving any further into this madhouse until I hear something."

The other three agreed and dropped wearily to the floor. They opened their turnouts and slipped them back off their shoulders, trying to let their heated bodies cool. Both Brooks and Morales pulled bottles of water from their pockets and shared it with their thankful 51 counterparts.

Brooks had been checking his watch on a regular basis so even though Mike was sorely pressed to check his own, he didn't. After about the hundredth time, he asked, "How long has it been?"

"Just over twenty minutes now." Came the answer.

Chet shook his head, "I wish someone would let us …" A blip from the HT stopped him. All four straightened and stared hard at the HT on the floor in front of them. "Cap 51 to all search times. We have DeSoto. He's sore, a little dehydrated but in good condition."

Mike grabbed the HT and ignored protocol as he asked, "Cap? Is Johnny with him?"

Cap's voice came back and they could hear the weariness in it. "Negative. They split up to search. He thinks he heard John call back to him once but you know how sound is deceptive in this place."

"Hank? What about the kids?" That was Gene's deep voice.

"Roy says they think they're still in here. They believe it was either three or four of them. He hadn't seen any sign of them before he got trapped but he has no idea if John has."

"How was he trapped?" Chet had finally gotten a hold of the HT while Mike was pondering what Cap had told them.

"Watch for falling furniture. That's what did it. He saw it falling and backed up. The falling triggered a section of the floor that dropped."

Chet and Mike exchanged looks before Chet keyed the mike again. "Yeah. Mikey and I found one of those moving platforms too. It dropped us on Brooks and Morales."

They couldn't hear Cap's sigh but they all knew it. "Continue searching. And be careful. Cap 51 clear."

"Well, where from here?" Chet looked around as all four regained their feet. Mike shrugged. "You got me. We were searching upstairs." He frowned, "At least we started upstairs. With the way this place dips and climbs it's hard to tell what floor your on."

Brooks pointed to a huge archway behind them. "Well, we came through there. I suggest we first check this room then decide from here." The other three nodded and spread out to do just that. Chet was moving pictures on the walls, looking for more triggers. Morales watched him with a slightly bemused expression. "Whatta'ya doin' Kelly? Lookin' for artwork ta pinch?"

Chet glared at him, "No. We found out that sometimes these walls move and the trigger can be these paintings."

"Oh." Jorge answered then looked at the wall next to him. He spied a sconce and grinned, "Hey! I saw a movie once where these things triggered a trap door." He pulled the sconce then yelped in surprise as the wall quickly spun all the way around, sweeping the Hispanic with it.

Chet blinked blankly at the empty spot where Jorge had stood just a moment before. Then he found his voice and bellowed, "Hey Guys! Help! The wall just ate Jorge!"

Immediately Brooks and Stoker joined the Irishman at the wall. "What did he do?" Mike demanded. Chet pointed to the light fixture. "He pulled that and the wall swung around."

Brooks looked at the sconce and pulled it, "You mean like this?" The wall pivoted again and Brooks disappeared. Chet nodded. "Yep. Just like that." He deadpanned.

Mike sighed. He leaned close to the wall and called out, "Brooks? Brooks, you ok?"

No sound.

He pulled out his HT. "Engine 51 to engine 39. You guys alright?"

"Engine 51, we're fine. Quite a ride; you wanna join us in here?"

Mike smirked. "Depends. Where's here?"

Erik looked around. "Uhhhh, looks like a dining room? Big table, fancy chandeliers, that kinda thing."

"Huh. That's a new one. I don't think anyone has seen that before." Mike replied. Then he shook his head. "No, Chet and I will continue in here. You two go on from there."

"10-4 Engine 51. Take care. Engine 39 clear."

Mike looked at Chet and shrugged as he pocketed the HT. "Well?"

"That is one I'm NOT gonna fall into." Chet deadpanned again. Mike blinked at him, a puzzled look on his face. Chet sighed, "Skip it. Poor pun." He looked around. "So, which way did they come from?"

Mike pointed over behind him, "Their marks are over by that doorway." Chet looked up into the ceiling where the edges of the platform they'd come down from still remained. "Well, you wanna try getting back up there?"

Mike looked at the ceiling and shook his head, "Don't know how we could get up there. And don't know if we could even get it to open again from here." Chet nodded as he walked over to a wall covered with a heavy curtain, "And what's behind curtain Number two, Johnny?"

Mike joined him, a sad look in his eyes, "I wish it _**was**_ Johnny behind that curtain." Mike said quietly. Chet gave a nod, "Yeah, me too. I'm officially sick of this place." He reached up and pushed the heavy fabric away. There was an ornate gilded frame on the wall around a hole. Another curtain hung inside that. Chet stuck his hand carefully through it. When nothing moved or fell on him he replaced it with his head.

Mike fidgeted in silence for several breaths then demanded, "Well?"

Chet pulled back. "It's a round room."

Mike looked at him. "Round?"

Chet nodded, "Completely round as in no corners. Even the join from ceiling to walls are rounded, like a dome. With a skylight at the top."

Mike paused a second then asked, "Shall we?"

Chet shrugged, "Might as well." He made a sweeping motion, "After you?" Mike frowned at him. "Thanks, I think." He marked the wall then climbed through and Chet followed him. Immediately the two men began exploring the room.

Chet was staring upward. "Gee, it looks like it's getting dark out there now." He looked at his watch. "I guess so, it's after 8 now." He sighed and scrubbed his face, "God, Mikey, Gage has been trapped somewhere in here for over six hours."

Mike nodded absently as he ran his hands around the walls, "I know, Chet."

Chet looked at him as he chewed on the edge of his mustache, "You think he's alright? I mean, Cap said Roy was just stuck, not really hurt. You suppose Gage is somewhere trapped like that?"

"We can hope so, Chet."

Chet sighed and begin searching the floor boards, "I choose to think so. 'Course, this is Gage we're talking about. And if one of them is gonna be hurt ,you know which one it's most likely to be. I swear Gage is …."

Mike raised his hand and Chet immediately stopped talking. He turned toward the lineman. "You hear that?"

Chet walked over to stand next to the engineer, tilting his head from side to side. "Think so." He answered slowly. "Sounds like .. . crying?"

Mike nodded and shouted out, "Hello! Can you hear us?"

A pause then, faintly, "Yes! Oh God yes! Help us please!"

"Where are you?" Chet called.

"I . . I don't know. In the wall! Somewhere in the wall!"

"Either Gage got hurt really bad or that sounds like a girl." Chet muttered. Mike sent him a scowl even as he lifted the HT to his lips. "Engine 51 to Cap 51. I think we've located one of the kids."

Cap exchanged glances with Marco, Marv and Roy. The two cops had left the room to keep looking and Roy was leaning against the wall, letting the IV Rampart had ordered for rehydration run into his veins. He'd convince Hank not to transport him until they found Johnny. Marv had assured the captain the other paramedic was in no medical danger. The muscles in his arms had finally stopped hurting and now only ached, like he'd fought a four alarm fire after he'd down two climb/repel rescues.

When Mike's call came in, Cap and Marco had been exploring the room but finding nothing. Cap grabbed out the HT and headed back over to Marv and Roy so they all could hear. "Repeat Engine 51?"

"Chet and I are in a completely round room and we can hear crying through the wall here. We have been answered. We will get more information from her." Came Mike's voice.

"10-4. We're gonna move to your position. Have Chet keep an ear out for us."

When Chet heard that, he nodded and headed back out into the room they'd been in with Brooks and Jorge. He called out several times and soon began to hear Cap's faint voice calling back. It hadn't been too long before the voices got closer. Chet grinned widely as the group came near. He made straight for Roy, a wide grin on his face as he happily shook the paramedic's hand. "Man Roy! It sure is good to see you!"

Roy gave a nod as his lips turned up in a weak smile, "Yeah. Now if we can find that partner of mine as well."

Chet's grin slid off his face. He slapped Roy's arm, drawing a wince as the muscle tingled and jumped uncontrollably at the external stimulation. "We'll find him." Chet promised. Roy just nodded, afraid to speak and let his own concerns out.

Chet showed them the sconces and told them about how Jorge and Brooks were now exploring from there. He pulled back the curtain and grandly gestured them through. Once they were on the other side, they all joined the engineer who had his ear pushed tightly against one wall.

Just as Cap neared him, he heard Mike say, "Stand back." as he ripped the tool off his jacket and swung at the wall.

"Stoker!"

Mike looked up and they watched as clearly identifiable emotions raced one after another over the engineer's face; fear, exasperation, guilt and finally determination as well as a jaw tilt of stubbornness. "Cap, she's just a kid, scared and panicked. She's been stuck in there for hours." He defended his actions.

Cap gave a sigh as he recognized the excuse as well as the emotions. He, too, was sick of this place and wanted nothing more than to begin ripping down walls, demanding that the place spit back out all the souls it held captive. "Alright." He turned to Chet, "Chet.."

"On it! One K 12 coming up!" The Irishman chortled happily even as he ran from the room. Mike had punched a small hole in the wall but before he could widen it, a small hand, scratched and bleeding appeared. Mike immediately grasped the hand and the trembling cold fingers tightened around him.

"Oh God, Oh God" a young sounding voice cried, "You're real. You're really real. I was so afraid you were just another weird noise from this place. Are…are you gonna get us outta here?"

Mike smiled softly and all the men felt their heart's wrench at the plea. "Yeah. We're gonna get you out."

Roy stepped forward and placed his fingers on the exposed wrist for a pulse. "Good and strong but a little fast." He muttered to the others. He raised his voice, "What's your name?"

"Jamie." Came the answer. "Hey, your voice is different!"

Roy smiled and patted the back of the hand. "Yes, the fellow you have a hold of here is named Mike. I'm Roy. I'm a paramedic."

Before he could explain she added, "Paramedic. Like medical firemen. Are you all firemen?"

Mike answered, "Yes."

"Good!." Came her answer. "Then when we get out of here, you gonna burn this place down before it kills someone?"

Cap cleared his throat as the others smirked at her words, "Ummm, sorry. We can't do that. This is private property."

They could all hear the hiccupping sigh. "You sure? This place…it's evil. We …my friends and I, we used to like hanging out in here. Like our own cool hideout. Then… then Jack stepped on something that went click and the wall was falling toward us. We all ran. Ricky and I ran together and we fell down this slide-like thing and landed in here. I don't know where Tony and Jack are."

She sobbed more and Mike tightened his grip on her hand. "We're here now." He soothed, "We'll get you out."

"Jamie?" Roy called out. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No, not really. Just…just cold. And really thirsty. And…and I hadta go to the bathroom real bad….but not lately…"

Roy looked at Cap. "Dehydrated, possibly hypothermic."

Cap frowned. Most of the house was almost unbearably stuffy and hot but he supposed different areas could be cooler. Roy was asking more questions about the trapped two.

"Hey mister medic?"

"Yes Jamie?" Roy answered, stroking the back of the hand still wrapped tightly around Mike's fingers.

"My brother, Ricky. Ummmmm. Something's wrong with him."

Roy felt the hairs rise on his neck. "Oh? Can you tell me about it?"

"Ye…yeah. He ummm. When we first landed in here, we both tried to find a way out, then…then he just went crazy! Screaming and beating his hands on the walls and stuff. I…I tried to stop him, I mean his hands,,,they were bleeding!"

"Are they still bleeding? What's he doing now?" Roy asked very aware that the girl was the only one talking.

"No, they aren't but…but he's just sitting there, all curled up. And he's staring at..at the wall." Her voice dropped, "He hasn't moved or nothing in hours."

Roy's jaw tightened, but he made his voice soothing, "Ok Jamie. We'll take care of him." He looked over at Cap who nodded. "I'll have ambulance respond." He ducked away to make the call.

About the time he finished, Chet huffed up carrying the K-12. Mike squeezed the hand he held and told her, "Jamie? This is Mike. I have to let your hand go now. We have our equipment here now and we're gonna get you out of there."

"O…ok." She said and pulled her hand back through the hole.

"Stand back, Jamie and make sure your brother is back too. We're gonna cut through the wall." Cap ordered then nodded to Mike. The K-12's blade bit into the wood and quickly went through. Mike made two long cuts downward then one connecting them. He pulled back, shutting the machine off as Cap kicked the panel as hard as he could. The wood caved in and immediately a sobbing pre-teenage girl launched herself into his arms.

"You did it! You did it! Oh, thank you, thank you." She sobbed looking up into Cap's face. He smiled at her then turned her over to Marv. "Jamie? This is Marv. He's a paramedic too. He wants to check you out."

Jamie looked back toward the hole, "My…my brother." She saw another fireman bending down by her brother. A comforting hand dropped on her shoulder as a familiar voice told her, "Roy's checking him out. You just relax. You're free now."

She looked up into concerned blue eyes and smiled even as fresh tears flowed down her face. "Hi, Mike,"

He smiled back at her, "Hi Jamie. Nice to meet you face to face." The area got more crowded as the two cops and Marv's partner, Nate Westley, came in, lugging 39's gear. Marv nodded toward the tiny room Roy knelt in. "Take this gear in to him." Zeke did as requested, then returned.

Chet stepped into the tiny room to assist Roy but stopped to look around first. The walls were painted to look just like a bedroom. So real you had to touch it to end the illusion. It was eerie that your eyes told you were in a large room there with a bed and typical furniture but your hands felt walls easily all around a standing man. "Man, I bet this could mess with a mind." Chet mused.

Roy gave a faint nod from where he was getting vitals on the blankly staring teen. "Yeah. I can imagine."

Marv was getting vitals on Jamie as Nate was contacting Rampart once more. "It was horrible." She sobbed. "At first we thought Tony had shut the door. But we called and banged and nothing budged and no one answered. And we were in that…that horrid room. If you closed your eyes, you could feel it was like …like being in a closet but if you opened your eyes it was like you were in this great looking bedroom. Ricky .. . Ricky couldn't handle that. He kept trying to open the door or climb on the bed and stuff. He…he kept beatin' himself against the wall. I still had my flashlight but it burned out a while ago and..and.. it was all so …so black! " She looked over at the other boy.

"Ricky? That's your brother, right?" Mike asked. Zeke nodded and pulled out his notebook. He began writing and Jamie watched him with avid interest, her brows now frowning.

She looked at the cop and gulped down a sob. "We're not in trouble…. Are we?"

As the cop merely looked at her, she frowned. "We didn't hurt anything. This place has been just sitting here forever! We never took anything, we just . .. hung out! There's no law against that!"

Dahl now frowned. "Yes. There is. Going some place you're not invited is trespassing. And coming in here is breaking and entering." For once Zeke looked almost proud of his rookie.

The girl bristled more. "You came in here."

"To find you." Cap pointed out. "Our paramedics got a call someone might be hurt in here. It's their job to find hurt people."

She turned away. "That ole busybody next door. He shoulda minded his own business."

"If he had minded his own business and not called us, you would still be trapped in that room." Mike gently reminded her.

She glanced back into the room and shuddered, the fight taken out of her. "What're your friends' names?" Zeke pushed. She remained silent as she watched Roy and Chet gently carry Ricky from the room and lay the boy down.

Zeke looked around then motioned with his head, "Dahl, go get the attendants and the gurney." He raised his HT to his mouth. "All rescue teams. Two of the victims have been found. Meet back at the front of the house for further instructions." Dahl had raced off.

Zeke nodded to Roy, "I'm putting these kids into custody. Go ahead and treat them."

Roy nodded as he started an IV on the boy. He had already cleaned and wrapped the shallow wounds on the youth's arms and hands. He splinted the hand he suspected was broken.

Jamie's eyes stayed glued to her brother and she barely flinched when the IV needle pierced her own flesh. "Roy? Is…is he gonna be alright?" She asked hesitantly.

Roy gave her a reassuring smile, "I think so. This fluid is just because you both are a little dehydrated. Plus it'll make giving any other medications easier. Most of the scratches are just that, scratches. But I think he might have broken his left hand."

She nodded, "He…he was beating on that wall awful hard. " She reached over and smoothed the boy's bangs off his forehead. "Ricky? Can you hear me? It's Jamie. We're gonna be alright now. Ricky?" There was no motion from the limp youth whose his eyes were now closed.

She dropped her head to her chest. "He's my brother. Ricky… Richard. He's 14. I'm Jamie Landon; I'm gonna be 12 in a week." Her voice was a mere whisper as she finally answered the cop's question.

"Jamie, were you and Ricky the only ones in here?" Zeke asked as he wrote the names in his notebook. She shook her head. "No. Tony Connors, uhhhh I think he's 16 and Jack Williamson were with us. Jack is 14 like Ricky. They've been best friends since kindergarten. But they ran a different way than us."

"Great." Cap sighed as he looked back out into the dark hallway. Jamie lifted her head, fear on her face. "Are .. . are they trapped in here somewhere too?"

"We don't know." Zeke answered truthfully. "But if they are, we'll find them." Mike added confidently.

"Good. 'Cause I'd hate for them or anyone else to be trapped in here." She shuddered again. "It was spooky." Her voice dropped and her eyes went wide. "I . .. I think the place is haunted." She confided. Chet stepped forward to hear her words, his eyes shining. "Really?" At his encouragement she nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! Really! Once Ricky got still and I got tired, I could hear these weird sounds .. .like …like moaning. And every once in a while I'd hear this tapping."

Now Mike was listening to her although Cap and Zeke shared an eyeroll. Chet moved closer. "Wow. What did it sound like?"

"Like this. Bang—bang-bang-bang-bang. Then it would stop then repeat. Over and over. Then I'd hear the moaning again and it would stop for awhile." She tapped out the rhythm on the floor. Roy smiled at her as he finished his assessment. "Well her vitals are normal. I think a good hot meal and some sleep in her own bed and she'll be fine." He looked up and nodded at the attendants who loaded Ricky's limp form onto the gurney. Marco helped pull a blanket over the youth then stripped another one out of its wrapper and draped it around Jamie's shivering shoulders.

Marv looked at Roy. "Nate and I will take them in once we find out if the other kids are still in here."

Roy gave him a grateful look, knowing the other paramedic was freeing him up to be the paramedic who would care for Johnny—that was when ever they found him, and if he needed one.

Zeke nodded, "I'll lead them on out to the front. We'll call these other kids homes and see if they've made it home." He escorted the young lady out with Dahl trailing faithfully behind. Cap looked at his men and sighed. "Let's head back to the front and get some water and a break. We've been at it in this place for …" He looked at his watch and grimaced. "Three hours now."

Roy hesitated, his lower lip between his teeth as he looked around. "But Cap… Johnny …"

Cap sighed and put his arm over his paramedic's shoulder. "I'm worried about him too. We'll find him, Roy. But you said yourself, you're probably still a little dehydrated." He nodded to the bandage on the paramedic's arm from where he'd pulled out his IV once they'd learned of the trapped teens. "Now I let you talk me into letting you stay until we find that wayward partner of yours." He shook his finger in the senior paramedic's face. "But it was under the condition you rested and drank. Now . . ." His eyed were kind but his face brooked no argument. "You can either join us in a drink and a sit down? Or I call Squad 39 back for another patient to transport."

Roy sighed heavily but nodded. The group headed slowly off -sans Mike. Cap looked back at his engineer who was staring thoughtfully into the room he'd opened. "Coming Stoker?"

Mike looked back over his shoulder toward his captain and nodded. "In a minute."

Cap sighed, "well, don't be too long. And for God's sake don't wonder off in this place. Stick to the routes we've already marked as clear."

Mike nodded again, "will do." He watched his leader disappear down the hall then turned back toward the room. He stepped inside, muttering to himself. "A ghost huh. Well, Gage, I've heard you called much worse." Something about the sounds the young girl heard, something about it just made him instantly think about the younger medic. "Shave and a haircut. That sounds like something you'd tap out. I know we're taught to bang on something in an odd rhythm if we're trapped." He settled himself onto the floor as he pulled the water bottle from his pocket and drank.

The little room didn't feel as hot as the rest of the house. In fact it was almost chilly. He was glad he had on his turnout coat. Then a pang hit him. Roy had only been wearing his uniform—no jacket, no turnout. Chances were Johnny was dressed the same.

He closed his eyes, listening hard. He could hear the various creaks of the house and tuned them out. Silent minutes ticked by. Mike turned off the flashlight to save the battery. The dark didn't bother him; in fact it allowed him to concentrate more on his hearing.

Nothing.

Silence.

Then …..

There. Faint. "She's right; it does sound kinda like a moan." He murmured. But he knew that it was more likely someone calling out. You'd have to be pretty close to a person to hear a moan like that. Then it came. Bang—bang-bang-bang-bang. A long pause, almost ten full seconds. And it repeated.

Excited now, Mike readied his flashlight and when the pause came, he struck the floor twice—bangbang.

There was a longer pause this time, then the sequence repeated. Again Mike supplied the 'two bits'. This time he waited five seconds and he initiated the 'shave anda haircut'. He waited expectantly then heard two quick bangs. He leapt to his feet calling loudly, "Johnny? Johnny, is that you?"

He listened and could hear something, then fast continuous banging for a good five seconds. He grinned. "attaboy Gage. Keep it up. We'll find you soon." He grabbed the Ht out of his pocket and keyed the mike. "Cap! Cap! Come back up to the hidden room! I think I found Johnny!"

A herd of elephants couldn't have sounded noisier than four firefighters tearing up the stairs and down the hall. Roy burst into the room first, his head swiveling around. "Where is he, Mike? Where is he? Is he hurt?"

Mike looked slightly chagrined as he answered, "umm. I don't know. He's not here….exactly."

Roy's shoulders slumped with that news and Cap put his hands on his hips. He was tired, and worried. And he'd just gotten Roy to sit down and stop pacing when Mike's call came. Now he was telling them Gage wasn't there—exactly? That kind of boneheadedness was what he'd expect from Chet, not his level-headed engineer. "Then where 'exactly' is he?" He barked.

Mike shrugged slightly and Marco groaned as Roy gave a great sad-sounding sigh. Cap drew himself up but Mike frowned and raised his hand. "Give me a chance to explain."

They all nodded and Mike dropped his hands. "That kid said she thought she heard ghosts in here."

Chet nodded, "Yeah, we heard her say that. This place is creepy enough to make anyone hear things."

Mike gave Chet an annoyed look but continued. "I thought her explanation revealed more than that so I tried a little experiment of my own." Now his face broke into a big grin. "And it worked! He answered!"

Chet snorted, "Great. This place is so weird it cracked Stoker."

Cap sighed, "Look, Mike."

Mike's face darkened. "No. Just give me a chance." He looked at each one until they nodded. Roy was the last. He nodded wearily and sank to the floor. Mike knelt down and banged his flashlight on the floor. "Shave anda haircut." He whispered.

Chet grinned at Marco. "Well, that would be the call from the beyond for ole long hair Gage alright." Marco glared at him then punched his arm. "Think about what you just said." He hissed.

Chet blinked then realized he was equating Johnny as dead. His eyes swung around to catch Roy looking at him before the paramedic dropped his gaze to his lap. Now Chet slumped, feeling awful. He hadn't meant it like that. It had just struck him as funny and as usual, he spoke before he thought.

There had been no reply and Mike beat out the rhythm again.

Nothing.

Cap sighed and wiped his hand down his face, "Look. Stoker. Mike."

Mike vehemently shook his head, "No Cap. I swear he answered." He beat out the rhythm again, begging, "Come on, Johnny. Come on."

All five men tensed, then came two swift bangs. Mike grinned. Cap shook his head, hating to burst the bubble of hope. "Mike, that could be just . . "

Mike raised his hand in a wait motion. From somewhere came, Bang—bang-bang-bang-bang, Mike quickly supplied the two bits and pandemonium broke out. Roy grabbed Mike and hugged him, his face bright with joy. "It's him! It's really him! You found him, Mike."

Cap motioned them all to be quiet and as soon as they were he walked around the small room, calling out every once in a while. "Johnny? Bang if I sound close." There were two quick raps. Cap stepped to the far wall. "Johnny? Here?"

Nothing.

He stepped to the right side wall. "Johnny? Here?"

Nothing.

He looked at his anxious men and stepped over to the left hand wall. "Here?" Two quick bangs. He smiled. "Atta boy Gage."

He turned around, "Kelly, get the . .. " But Chet was already out the door. In mere seconds it seemed, he was back in the room with the running K-12 in hand. The others cleared the small area as Kelly attacked the wall. Soon the new door he'd made fell inward and he grabbed the flashlight handed to him. He shone the light into the room, then glanced once back at his shiftmates before climbing through. Single file they followed and looked around them. They were now in some sort of office. A large desk was against one wall and bookcases still full of books lined the walls but one—the one they came through.

Cap looked around and called out, "Johnny?"

This time they could hear the banging better but it didn't seem as strong. Cap and Roy's eyes met. "He's getting weaker." The older paramedic breathed.

"Possibly…"Cap cautioned, not wanting his men to lose hope. He looked around. "He has to be close. Find any opening you can." At once the men began tugging on the book cases and tapping at the floor. It was Marco this time who made the discovery. "Dios!" He cried as he jumped backwards from the bookcase.

Roy grabbed him and pulled him further away. "Did it move?"

Marco nodded, remembering what Roy had told them. Cautiously everyone looked down as if they expected the floor to disappear beneath them. It was Cap who finally asked, "How did it move?"

Marco paused in thought, "I touched a book and the whole thing shifted."

"Like it was falling." Roy stated but Marco shook his head. "No. More like a door swinging."

"Show me." Cap demanded and carefully he and the lineman walked back over to the bookcase. He pointed to the book and Cap smirked as he read the title. "Journey To The Center Of The Earth." He pulled the book hard and with a great scraping sound the book case swung toward them revealing a room beyond.

This time the men were cautious and multi flashlights shone into the revealed space. "Chet? I think we just found your projection room." Cap muttered as flashlights shone around the expensive wallpaper and the painted walls made to look like you were stepping into a large parlor. Cap shone his light upward, inspecting the strange rigging centered into the ceiling.

"Cap? I think you mean Johnny found it." Mike murmured and the others looked at him. He nodded but his gaze was locked on what his flashlight revealed. They, too, looked and several hisses and various muttered curses burst out. There was the glass floor like Chet had described only one panel had shattered, the ragged edges of thick glass encompassing a dark hole a little over two feet across. The flashlight defused and disappeared into the depths below.

Roy made to move forward but Cap grabbed his arm. "Wait Roy. We don't know how sturdy that floor still is. Was it broken before Gage stepped on it or did his weight break it?"

Roy ground his teeth in frustration, knowing Cap was right but desperately wanting to get to his friend. Cap turned to the rest of his crew just in time to see Marco and Chet run off. He blinked at his engineer who gave a nervous shrug. "Chet had an idea we could stretch a ladder over the floor from here and Roy could then crawl out on that."

Cap looked across and could see the open door on the other side and gave a careful nod. "That could work." Roy leaned as far out over the glass floor as he could, trying to see beyond it. "Johnny? Johnny can you hear me?"

There was no reaction now.

Cap inhaled and bellowed, "Gage! Answer!"

Faintly, slowly there came tap-tap-

Roy looked up at Cap, his eyes filled with concern and his breathing picking up. "Something's wrong. Cap, I gotta get down there to him."

Cap, too, was worried that Johnny hadn't vocalized to them. "He's probably been hollering for hours, Roy. Could just be his voice is gone."

Roy held his hand over the glass floor. "Cap, this room is colder than that closet we found those kids in. If Johnny has been trapped down there all this time…."

Cap sighed, and gave a jerky nod, acknowledging the fact it was very likely the slender man was suffering from hypothermia on top of any injuries from his fall. "Roy, we're gonna get you to him as quickly and as safely as possible."

Roy gave a frustrated sigh as he turned back to the hole that held his friend. He moved as close as he dared and hollered into the depths, "Johnny? We're here, partner. We're gonna get you out of there. Just…just hold on." Softly he repeated, "Please, Junior. Hold on."


	5. Chapter 5

OK. Here's the next chapter. One to go and maybe an epilog. Sorry for the delay…massive medical issues getting ready for this surgery…Johnny has the right idea, do it as an emergency and there's not all these doctor visits, consults, xrays, insurance crying, "Is it really necessary? I mean, you CAN still walk, just with a limp..and only across a room…and you can't work anymore…But you CAN still walk! Right?" Sigh…

A special thanks for all of you who are following this little tale. I get new alerts each week and I do say, it helps to see those when I sit down to write. Thank you very much…Now enjoy! We got Johnny out of that pit!

Chapter 5

Marco and Chet burst out of the house, panting but wearing huge grins. Marv looked over from where he was getting ready to climb into the squad; the ambulance bearing his partner and the two kids was just hitting the street, it's siren beginning to wail. The excited linemen made to move right through the gathered group but Morales and Captain Price grabbed them, halting their rush. "Hold on just a minute here, fellas." Gene Price said as Chet swerved around to face him.

Marco was gesturing wildly and jabbering in quick Spanish to Morales who at first nodded with a serious expression then he, too, broke into a grin, shouted, "Si! Vomonos!" and the two lit off.

Chet glanced once at them then quickly began to explain. "Cap, Mike found Johnny. He believed that girl's tale about a ghost was really Gage trying to let someone know where he was. He waited and when Gage began pounding, he answered back. Then we cut a hole in the wall and Marco found another one of those swinging doors and behind that was the room where Gage fell through the floor. He's trapped several feet down and Marco and I came out to get a ladder so that Roy can crawl out on the busted floor and get a better look at him!"

Chet took a deep breath after that while the other men blinked at him. Then questions started coming at him from all directions. "Fell through the floor! Like DeSoto did?" Came from Marv.

"Do you guys need help?"

"Is he hurt?"

"How far he fall?

"You mean you opened the walls?" that bellow came from right by Chet's ear and he looked into the angry face of Chief McConnikee. He gave a weak smile but Captain Price answered first. "That place is a rescuer's nightmare, Chief. You can't follow a straight path anywhere; windows are doors, doors are dead-ends, the walls are hollow with little chance of finding how to trigger an entrance without spending a lot of time." The Chief looked around to see all the others nodding solemnly. Gene shrugged, "I can't fault Hank using the K-12. After 10 minutes in there I was ready to start ripping down walls myself."

"We used the K-12 to get Jamie and her brother out." Chet added, "It was from that room we could hear Gage. The only way into that room we knew of was the slide in the ceiling the kids came down."

Chief chewed his lip for a moment then grunted. "So. What's the plan?"

Excited again, Chet explained. "The floor is this thick glass in panels with heavy metal brackets bracing it and there's a hole about this big in one panel." He expanded his hands to show the size. "Cap wouldn't let Roy crawl out on it 'cause he wasn't sure if Gage fell through the hole already there or if his weight broke it. Marco and I thought if we put a coupla ladders over the floor Roy could use those to distribute his weight better and crawl out to look down, see how Gage is and figure it out from there."

The others nodded at the idea and immediately hands started grabbing gear from the trucks. A heavily breathing Marco and Jorge returned from Engine 51 with their long ladder. Marco held up two belts and turnout coats "I got Johnny and Roy's gear. We can probably lift them out with these." Chief nodded.

"I gotta go, guys." Marv said as he climbed into the squad, "All of 51's gear is right there. Let us know, huh?"

Gene nodded to his paramedic. "Go. We'll keep you informed." The man nodded once, sent a frown toward the innocent looking exterior of the horrific house and left.

Zeke came over, his face frowning, "We got in contact with those other kids. They're at home so only Gage is left in there now." Chief nodded, "Good. Thanks for your help, Officer." Zeke hesitated and looked back over toward Dahl who was shifting anxiously from foot to foot. "We'd …uhhh, kinda like to stay until they get Gage out. If you don't mind, Chief." He added quickly knowing since this was now a fire rescue he really had no jurisdiction.

Gene grinned, "They've been here since the start. They know the ways in and out of the house better than we do."

Zeke brightened up and Dahl now stood next to his partner, his pock-marked face showing his excitement as he chewed nervously on his upper lip. "We could help carry equipment." Zeke offered. Dahl nodded, his young face eager. Gene motioned to the various medical gear with a nod of consent but before they grabbed it, Zeke stopped them with, "Hold it. Perhaps we'd best leave that here."

At Gene's puzzled look, Zeke explained, "Our flashlights are nearly dead, and I bet yours are getting there too. That house is mighty dark in daylight and I bet worse now. It might be best to treat him out here. Light would be better."

Chief nodded his approval, "Sounds good." He picked up his HT, ordered another ambulance to their position then said, "Someone had best wait here for them."

"I will." Barnes volunteered. Gene nodded, knowing the lineman had been badly spooked by a door that had slammed shut on them earlier. He didn't want to re-enter the house either but now that it was no longer a search and only retrieval it wouldn't be so bad. And the added bonus was that Gage was alive. The hope was he wasn't hurt too badly and would quickly recover once they got him out of that accursed place.

The others grabbed up various ropes and blanket packages, the stokes and Chet and Brooks grabbed the long ladder off Engine39 and the group disappeared back into the house.

Marco and Morales were leading the way when Dahl suddenly stopped and turned to Brooks and his captain. "Wait. I know a short cut."

Gene stopped, looking at the cop sternly. "How could you? Have you been there?"

Dahl dropped his head slightly, "No. But I'm beginning to figure this place out." He shrugged at the wide-eyed looks he was receiving. "I like puzzles." He lamely explained. Zeke looked around. Most of the others had left them and now only Brooks, Chet, Zeke, Dahl and the Chief were there. "Ok. Lead." Chief decided. Dahl charged up the staircase and moved quickly through a sitting area.

Roy was pacing by the door they had opened, periodically calling to his partner when the loud noise of approaching men brought his head around. Cap stepped out into the round room and lead the group through. Marco and Morales had a difficult time maneuvering the ladder through the area but finally got it into the office area. To their shock once they got there, all sweaty and breathing hard, Brooks, Gene, and the others were grinning at them from the other open doorway. The others were grouped across the glass floor from the office their ladder already stretching across the small room.

Cap blinked at his counterpart and his boss. "How'd you get there?"

Gene grinned as he pointed to the two cops. Zeke looked proudly at his rookie, "Don't know how he managed but junior here found us a shorter route."

Chief nodded his approval. "I think his way will make it easier to get the stokes out too.

'_**Junior…**_' At the sound of the too familiar nickname, Roy's face had clouded over and he looked back into the hole. "DeSoto, he answer you yet?" Chief asked.

Roy shook his head. "No sir. He only made that one attempt to strike something when we first came through the wall but nothing since."

Only commands were spoken as the rescue efforts commenced. Roy quickly and thankfully put on his turnout coat and belt brought by Marco while the others set up lights and the two ladders bracing the hole.

Unable to wait while Roy got ready, Marco climbed out over the first rungs, peering down into the hole. "I can see him! Johnny? Johnny!"

Roy hurriedly fastened Johnny's belt to his, "How is he? Can you see?"

Marco nodded, "He's not moving. I can't see his face. He's about 15 ft down just like you figured Chet." Roy made his way across and looked down for the first glimpse at his partner. "Yeah. I see him. Cap, he's sitting up, his legs straight out. His body is bent forward, resting on his legs." Roy could see the bowed back of his younger partner and his booted feet and the back of his dark head touching his knees. "There's a large piece of some kind of machinery right next to him. The area is small, no room for the stokes." Roy continued. Taking a deep breath, Roy called out, "Johnny! Johnny can you hear me? Answer me John!"

"He's alive!" Mike crowed, his grin nearly splitting his face. Roy turned slightly to look at the engineer who nodded, "I saw his left hand move. There. The one near the flashlight." Roy looked down and saw Johnny's hand twitching just like Mike had said. He pulled back slightly and looked over the situation.

"We may have to break more of this glass to make this hole wider. You're bigger than Gage is, Pal." Cap said.

Marco was still peering down the hole. "That machinery looks like the projector you talked about Chet. I hope it fell through the floor first and didn't fall on him." Chet muttered something under his breath and shifted uneasily. That thought disturbed him more than he would ever admit.

"We'll need to get him covered. I don't want to risk that glass striking him and hurting him anymore than he already is." Roy said as he began tying the rope into a harness.

"I got that." Marco answered and before any one else could move he grabbed Gage's turnout coat he'd brought with Roy's, and carefully dropped it down the hole. "Right on target!" Mike complimented. The coat had spread out slightly as it fell and landed across Gage's back and part of his head.

Mike and Marco began enlarging the hole as Roy adjusted the harness around himself. "Cap, I think the best thing is for me to drop down there and check him over and if I can, get him into his coat and belt, attach him to me and then all of you pull us up."

Cap looked around at the nodding heads. "Sounds like that'll work. We have enough manpower." He took off his own turnout and carefully spread it out to place over the edges of the glass. "That should protect the ropes." He commented but Roy gave him a secretive smirk. He'd seen Cap move so he could see down the hole and knew Cap had wanted a look himself at his trapped man.

Before long, Roy was slowly being lowered down into the darkness. All the way down, he kept his eyes on that still figure at the bottom. First thing he did when his feet touched was set up several flashlights so he could see. Then he carefully made his way in the cramped space around the scattered projector pieces to his friend.

This close, he could hear Johnny's struggling breaths and see the slender body shivering violently. He moved the turnout coat and ran his hands over Johnny's head and his back before he fastened the c-collar around Johnny's neck. Then he carefully straighten him back into a sitting position. Johnny's breathing eased off but remained fast and shallow from his open mouth. His head lolled limply to one side as much as the collar allowed; dark eyes closed.

Roy patted his cheek gently, calling, "Johnny? Can you hear me? Come on Junior open those eyes."

To his relief the dark lashes fluttered then Johnny's eyes cracked open. They looked around with a glazed look, stopping at the flashlights. "Johnny?" He called again as he wrapped his hand around one wrist. Johnny's face twisted into a grimace and he gave a hiss of pain at the same time Roy felt a stickiness on Johnny's arm. "Oh, Junior." He muttered as he examined the bloody limb, barely seeing the lacerations and raw scrapes past the blood and dirt. A quick check confirmed the outsides of both arms were in like condition.

Roy began calling out his finding to those waiting above. "He's alive, semi conscious at best. No bumps on his head and his spine looks good. His arms are pretty cut up." He continued to run his hands over his friend's body. "He's cold. I suspect both from shock and hypothermia." He could feel the coolness of Johnny's skin and his shivers. He moved his exploring hands over his partner's ribs and got a slight shift in Johnny's position as well as a weak giggle. That made his own face smile slightly. "His ribs are fine. So's his pelvis. Right leg is good, swelling in the right ankle though." He'd seen the belt tied around Johnny's upper left thigh and moved to exam that limb. "He's tourniqueted his left leg. There's marked swelling on his left knee and …" He paused as he felt the wetness on Johnny's calf as Johnny gave a faint moan and moved his leg away from Roy's questing fingers. "There's a bad gash on his calf. It might still be seeping; it's hard to tell down here."

"Is he safe to get out of there on the harness?" That was Cap's worried voice.

Roy was carefully maneuvering Johnny's injured arms into his turnout coat. "Yeah. I don't see anything that would prevent it." He closed the latches on the coat as Cap called down again. "Roy? Here's a blanket. Cover yourselves; we're gonna widen this hole more."

Roy caught the yellow disposable sheet, ripped it clear of its wrapper then crouched down beside his wounded friend. He flipped the sheet out and let it settle over them. Immediately pieces of glass made sharp noises as they bounced off the protection. Johnny still had his eyes opened slightly and he flinched at the sudden movements. "It's ok partner," Roy soothed as he moved closer to the shivering body beside him, "The guys are gonna get us out of here soon." Their cover had included one of the flashlights and the other flashlight lit the blanket from outside, giving their shelter a weird sorta golden glow. In it, Roy could see the dark eyes settle on him. He smiled and thought he saw one corner of Johnny's mouth turn slightly upward.

For a moment Johnny's lips moved like he was trying to speak but then Cap's voice rang out, "Ok! We're done." And Roy stood, flinging the blanket from them and then flipped Johnny's belt around his slender waist. It wasn't long before everything was tightened and the rope was secured around them. "OK. Take us up." He helped ease his friend's unresisting body to a standing position then, holding him close to him to keep his back and neck aligned, they began rising from the trap Johnny had laid in for over 7 hours.

Roy sighed as he kept his arms wrapped carefully around his shivering, cold, partner, one hand rose up to brace Johnny's head where it rested against Roy's shoulder. He could feel the panting breaths against his neck. A low moan broke up the breathing as Johnny's dangling leg bumped against the dirt wall and Roy tightened his hold, "Easy Junior, easy. I've got you. We're getting you out of this hellhole. Soon you'll be in a nice warm bed at Rampart." Roy looked up at the face of his Captain drawing closer, Johnny's body gave a violent massive spasm and Roy stroked the dark hair, murmuring. "Easy partner, almost there."

Multiple hands grabbed for them as they neared the opening. "Careful of his arms and that left leg." Roy told them as Johnny was lifted out and unfastened from Roy's belt. He watched, pulling the harness from his own body as Johnny was gently lifted into the stokes then blankets were settled over his quivering body.

Before the senior paramedic even unhitched the rope, eager hands grabbed up the stokes and began carrying the injured man away. Roy opened his mouth to caution them but shut it again when he heard Hank order. "Careful not to shift him too much. Keep his feet a little higher than his head. It'll help the shock." Roy smiled, knowing his shiftmates would be as careful with their friend as he himself had been. He tossed the freed rope from him and hurried after them.

Dahl eagerly lead the group back the way he'd found and soon they were out of the cursed house. Brooks, Captain Pole and Morales quickly gathered the equipment used in the rescue and were out of the building on Roy's heels. As soon as Hank, Mike, Chet and Marco excited the house, they carefully set Johnny near the prepared triage area. Hands once more gently grabbed up the limp form of their shiftmate and moved him to the spread out yellow blankets.

Roy blinked at the sudden brightness, realizing someone had moved Engine 51 opposite her sister engine and both had their noses facing the porch, their headlights providing ample light. He unbuttoned and shed his turnout coat in the heat of the Californian night as he moved toward the figure of his partner. He saw that the others had stripped Johnny of his harness and turnouts as well as laid him out of the stokes so that Roy could now treat his wounds. "Roy? The mask left in there was crushed so I pulled a nasal. Is 10 liters enough?" Mike asked as he stood poised at the O2 canister, the nasal cannula already secured under Johnny's nose. Roy nodded.

Marco had Johnny's scissors in his hand and was carefully splitting what was left of Johnny's left pant's leg. Johnny's boots sat off to the side so that Roy could better examine the swollen ankle. Johnny's blue shirt had been removed and the sleeves of his white t shirt were also slit open so that all the surface of his arms was free. Cap knelt by Johnny's opposite side, his hand on his youngest's upper arm. Roy dropped to his knees, his eyes latched onto the pale, sweating face of his friend.

"Roy, we didn't remove that." Marco pointed toward the belt around Johnny's thigh. "We figured you'd need to see it first."

Roy nodded, knowing that the gash seemed to be the worst of his friend's injures. In the better light he could see the still oozing gash was deep and dirty. He pulled off the sock on Johnny's left foot and saw the toes were still pink and a check proved he had a pedal pulse, even if it was weak. A hand appeared in his sight holding several pressure bandages which he gratefully applied. Then he reached to undo the belt. He slowly released the pressure. All eyes were on the leg and more than one set of lungs held in a breath, waiting for blood to run. But it didn't. The pressure bandages slowly turned red and Roy slapped more on top. The second set stayed white and there was a great 'whoosh' of exhalations.

Roy wiped his own sweating brow and moved up toward Johnny's torso. "I need .." he began but stopped when he felt the BP cuff and stethoscope bumping him. "Oh. Thanks Chet." The mustached lineman grinned briefly then looked back worriedly at their shivering friend. Roy carefully wrapped the BP cuff around an uninjured area of Johnny's upper arm and inflated it. As he pulled the stethoscope from his ears, he began saying, "Could someone …" But he heard Mike's voice in the back saying, "…..year old paramedic who was injured in a fall of about 15 ft and was trapped underground in a hole for over 7 hours. He has been extricated and we are now assessing him. Cervical precautions have been taken. We have him, on 10 liters O2. Vitals to follow, Rampart."

Roy smiled at Mike who then handed him the receiver. "Rampart, vitals are pulse 118, weaker at radial point, BP is 82/58, his pupils are dilated but reactive. He is semi conscious but responds to stimuli. Respirations are shallow at 68. No tenderness or crepitis on chest. Abdomen is unremarkable. No head trauma apparent. There are marked cuts and lacerations on his dorsal arms bilaterally. There is substantial debris in the wounds. There is marked swelling and bruising in his right ankle and left knee. There is a large deep gash extending distally on the left calf from the knee about 8 inches in length. Unknown blood loss but patient had tourniqueted that leg. Skin is pale and cold, patient is shivering actively…"

"Roy.."

Cap's voice interrupted Roy and he looked up to see Cap held a thermometer. Roy suddenly realized that was why it appeared the older man was holding Johnny's arm close to his body. He rekeyed the receiver, "Rampart, we've taken the patient's temp. It's.." he paused and Cap immediately filled in, "92.4 "

Roy blinked but his voice was still steady as he repeated, "Temp is 92.4 degrees axillary."

On the other end of the phone, the normally unflappable Dr. Joe Early looked… well, flapped. He knew about the missing younger counterpart of the 51 paramedic team from the traffic on the Fire Department's scanner and his earlier conversations with 39's over Roy and the two kids now on their way into Rampart. He knew this call had to mean that they had found John Gage…. and he wasn't doing well. He glanced at Dixie whose blue eyes reflected her concern even as he jammed the button on the unit downward. "51, his low vitals could be either from hypothermia or hypovolemic shock. Start IVs bilaterally, one D5W, the other lactated Ringers. Splint ankle and knee. Control bleeding as needed. Wrap him as warm as you can to prevent further heat loss. Monitor vitals and update every five minutes. Watch LOC and transport as soon as possible." He released the button and barely heard Roy repeat his instructions before he turned to look at Dixie who told him, "The ambulance with those kids is coming in now. I've got 4 set for Johnny.'

Joe nodded, "Good. Get two units of his blood type up here. I have a feeling he'll need it. And get an OR ready. I have a feeling those wounds will need to be surgically debried before we can suture them." With that, he headed off to meet the gurney just wheeling into the ER and Dixie hurried off to do her tasks.

At the scene, Roy repeated the orders and dropped the receiver into Mike's waiting hand. He turned back to his partner and found both Marco and Chet handing him the ends of set IV lines. He looked from their grinning faces to their hands and followed the lines up to where they disappeared under their clothing. With a start, he realized both sweating men still wore their turnout coats and they had obviously placed the IV bags Johnny would need close to their now well heated skin to prevent him from having further chilling from cool IV solution. A wave of gratitude flooded through him as he returned their smiles. Cap shook his head and gave out a choked, "Twits." But Roy knew he was as moved by the two lineman's actions as Roy himself. Roy took the first needle Marco handed him and waited while the engineer repeatedly scrubbed the younger paramedic's arm, trying to remove the dirt and blood enough that Roy had a fairly clean area for insertion. Finally he pulled back satisfied.

"Geez Stoker. I thought you were gonna clean the skin straight off 'em." Brooks teased his fellow engineer. "Yeah," Morales added, "After seeing how he scrubbed that arm I know why his engine always shines so." There was faint chuckling all around and Hank's eyes met Gene's as they both realized the two teams were trying to relieve some of the pressure.

Roy hunted in the broadly cleaned area for a decent vein, his frown growing as he searched area after area. "He's so dehydrated…" He murmured out loud. "Can you find one?" Cap sounded worried. He knew how desperately Johnny needed that fluid to stabilize his vital functions. After all, he'd heard ever since he made captain that the main reason paramedics saved lives was their ability to give first medical aid—mainly an IV.

"Oh, I'll find one." Roy assured them. His gaze went to his partner's face. "Mike, loosen that collar a bit." At that word, each member of the 51's team's heart sank. Although they'd seen both Roy and John start jugular IVs on victims, the thought of Roy having to stab Johnny in the neck sent shudders up their spines. Suddenly Roy paused then palpitated earnestly on Johnny's arm just to the side of his elbow. "Ahhh, there you are." He pushed the needle through and punctured it, getting a good return flash. Johnny winced at the stab and tossed his head. Roy connected the cannula and set the drip. Then he repeated the process on Johnny's other freshly scrubbed arm. This time the poke caused Johnny to groan and brown eyes opened to begin looking around. Roy didn't seem to notice as he asked, "Give me some gauze and I'll wrap these arms."

A roll was placed into his hand and he began to carefully wind it around Johnny's arm. Johnny licked his dry lips and his eyes settled on the man holding his stinging arm. He frowned first then his mouth moved.

"Roy…" The voice was scratchy and hoarse and Johnny choked some on his dry mouth, making nausea flare in him.

The barely breathed word was harshly spoken but caught all their attentions more than if it had been shouted. Johnny tried wetting his lips again. "Can he have some water, Roy?" That was Barnes asking.

Roy hesitated. He knew his partner was dehydrated, that was evident from the difficulty he had finding a decent vein. But he also knew that shock patients often suffered from nausea. So far, Johnny hadn't showed any signs of that but that was always a worry. And he was sure his partner would be headed for surgery. Cleaning wounds that deep and dirty would be more that they could do in the ER. Before he could answer, Barnes suggested. "How 'bout just enough to wet his lips and tongue?"

To that Roy nodded. Barnes pulled a clean handkerchief from his pocket, wet it well then squeezed some drops into Johnny's open mouth. Immediately Johnny opened his mouth more and swallowed the few drops. Barnes used the wet cloth to wipe it over the dry lips. Johnny stretched forward, trying to catch the cloth in his mouth so he could suck the moisture from it. "More?" he begged as Barnes reluctantly removed the cloth.

"Sorry junior. Can't risk it." Roy's voice was filled with regrets as he laid his hand on Johnny's shoulder. With his arms now wrapped, Marco and Cap had covered the still shivering man in several of the thin disposable blankets. Mike gently laid Johnny's turnout coat on top. Johnny's gaze shifted around, jumping from face to worried face but with little recognition, much to the concern of those watching him.

Johnny's eyes finally caught sight of Roy and his mouth turned up in a faint smile. "Roy. I . . . . found you."

Roy snorted at that but he smiled softly at his partner. "Yeah. You did."

Johnny gave a faint nod as his eyes blinked slowly. "I…. I heard . . .. you call…" He stuttered and shifted uncomfortably. "'m cold."

"We're doing something about that, Johnny. You just hold still now." Hank told him as he too, laid a hand on Johnny's chest to prevent his movement.

Chief McConnikee rejoined them. He shook his head as he reached out to shake Zeke's hand. "Thank you for that quick tour. I must say, with what little you've showed me of that…that nightmarish house, I'm surprised only those kids and Gage were seriously hurt." As Hank and Gene looked up at him, he frowned. "Officer Nass was kind enough to show me some of the traps and misroutes in that maze in there. I will tell you right now, any methods you used for this rescue were certainly justified."

His gaze went to the shivering form wrapped in several yellow sheets and at least three turnout coats. "How's he doing?" He whispered low into Hank's ear.

Hank kept his voice low too. "Not too good. He got really chilled in there; he's hypothermic and in shock. He's lost a lot of blood."

The Chief sighed and ran a hand through his hair before replacing his cap. "Well, Officer Nass. I think you can head out now. Please tell your captain I will be contacting him and the police chief about this house. I want to talk to the Head FireChief about this and I think between the two of our services we will begin to pressure the city-council to make some decisions on this place. It has clearly become a public hazard."

Next he turned to the gathered firefighters. "Hank, you and your boys can follow the ambulance when it gets here. I'm gonna stand you all down for two hours to shower and eat. Let me know what the Docs say. DeSoto, get yourself checked out as well." Chief McConnikee's voice startled the men who had been concentrating on their friend.

Hank nodded. McConnikee turned to Gene. "You're released from scene. I'll stand you down for an hour. Get cleaned up and get some food."

Reluctantly the crew from 39's made their good-byes and 51's assured them they would let them know how Gage was doing. Gene slapped his hand on his counterpart's back. "Hank? Good job; good men." He said. Like most captains in the county, he'd heard of the close team of 51's A shift but this was the first he'd only seen it in action, not busy with his own team. He shook his head in faint wonder at how even the linemen had predicted the medical needs of their friend and had immediately acted as if physical extensions of the paramedic. He was still shaking his head as he climbed into his seat and glanced at his engineer. "Home James."

"Right Bossman." Brooks told him as he carefully shifted the big rig back away from the cluster grouped on the porch. He, too, had much to think about what he'd seen. He'd never thought to help his own station's paramedics on a mutual call; it had never occurred to him that he could. Little did he know, his thoughts were being echoed by the other three men on his rig as he headed them back to their barn.


	6. Chapter 6

OK. Here is the next chapter… we got Johnny out of that hole, now lets get him to Rampart! There is one more chapter after this. Enjoy!

Chapter 6

Johnny now lay on a hard backboard, a strap around his chest and over his hips. His head was fastened down across the forehead and under the chin by kerlex. However his arms and legs hadn't been strapped down yet since Roy was still tending his wounds. Currently, he was checking his partner's blood pressure while Mike watched him, the only sign of the apprehension he was feeling being his hand blanched white around the receiver of the biophone. The air released from the cuff with a low hiss as he pulled the earpieces from his ears. "Pulse down, now 101, respirations slower at 45, BP now 92/68." He glanced at Cap as Mike relayed that information. Cap read the thermometer and nodded. "Temp's up too. Now 93.8." Mike repeated that information into the receiver.

Joe Early nodded at the news. The IVs were doing their work; Johnny's vitals were coming up. "51, continue treatment as ordered. Place him on the monitor and watch for any arrhythmia. Repeat vitals in five minutes. Is ambulance on scene yet?"

Mike frowned as he answered, "Negative on ambulance, Rampart. Continuing treatment as ordered, repeating vitals in five. Place on monitor and watch for arrhythmia. 10-4 Rampart. 51 out."

Roy took the prepared leads as Cap carefully moved the covers away from Johnny's chest. Soon the leads were attached and the monitor began tracking Johnny's heart. Roy grabbed the receiver, "Rampart, sending you a trace, lead 2." Roy watched the scope as he knew Dr. Early was watching the one in Rampart. "Looking good so far, Junior. A little fast but steady. Just keep it up."

"51, Looks good. A little tachycardic but good rhythm. Keep me informed."

Cap carefully replaced the coverings over the shivering form, being sure not to disturb the wires but making sure Johnny was well tucked in. Johnny opened his eyes again and blinked, looking around. Roy saw and moved into his partner's line of sight, smiling to see more awareness in the brown gaze. "Hey there you. Looks like the IVs are helping."

"Roy?" Johnny's voice cracked in mid word and he coughed dryly. Mike took the handkerchief Barnes had left and soaked it again. He put it to Johnny's mouth and let him suck some of the moisture from it. Then he wiped the dry lips. Johnny sighed; something told him that his incredible thirst wouldn't be alleviated any time soon. He was feeling a little better although his mind felt fuzzy and it was difficult to focus.

"John? Do you remember what happened?" His Captain's voice came from somewhere over his right shoulder. Johnny frowned, trying to gather his scattered thoughts and was a little panicked at how hard it was. "Search… for kids. Found candy wrapper…fresh chocolate. Then… then heard crash and Roy called. I… I ran for him and stepped . . . into this . . . room." He blinked rapidly as his respirations picked up. He tried to shake his head but the strapping prevented much movement. "No…no floor! Falling! Tried… tried to..to catch myself…. It was cold…dark. I called and called….and no answer." He gave a faint whimper as he softly repeated, "No answer."

Mike leaned forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I heard you, Johnny. I answered you." Johnny blinked and then Mike softly sing-songed, "Shave and a haircut."

Johnny froze then a faint smile turned up his lips as he whispered. "Two bits." Mike patted him.

Chet was shaking his head, "Man, you were down there for _**ever**_. Whadidcha do all that time?" he wondered, then colored when he realized he'd spoken out loud.

Johnny moved his feet restlessly. His breathing had increased as a feeling of anxiety began to fill him. Roy noticed and checked the wound on his leg. The pressure bandage had bled through so he quickly strapped two more over it and wrapped kerlex around them. A check of Johnny's arms showed the wounds there were still seeping. Unfortunately as Johnny warmed up, his body no longer just kept his circulation to his organs but again pumped fresh blood to his limbs causing them to bleed freely. Roy reached for the receiver which Mike instantly handed him.

"Rampart. 51 here. Patient is getting anxious. Wounds are still seeping and I've added more wrappings."

Joe frowned. He knew this could happen. He really needed Johnny in here now but with the delay on the ambulance there wasn't much more he or 51's crew could do. "51 increase drip and give him 5 mg of MS IV and try to keep him calm as much as you can." He knew if he ordered much more pain relief than that in the field, the medication would depress Johnny's respirations and the young paramedic was already having trouble there.

"Increase drip, give 5mg MS IV. Keep calm. 10-4 Rampart." Roy answered then dropped the receiver back into the biophone and pulled the required ampoule out.

Johnny was talking, answering Chet's question. "I . . . my game. I played… my game." He was saying. He groaned as the pain of his injures flared. Hoping to distract him and keep his attention more focused, Cap asked, "What game?"

Johnny blinked and shifted his legs. "Word game. Com..plete alphabet. 10 good words … each letter. Like Bountiful. Delightful. Joyously. Lively. Safe. " He paused with a gasp. Roy reached over and began pushing the MS into the IV port. "Rampart authorized a little something for that pain, Johnny." He soothed.

Johnny grunted, his face frowning. "Then… then I got to 'w'."

Roy blanched and Mike met his look as a pained expression crossed his own face. Each was thinking about their shiftmate; trapped, alone, hurt and separated for so long that he'd nearly been through all 26 letters in his 'game' to distract himself.

It was clear Johnny was getting more agitated, "No words, Roy. I… I can't find any words for … for 'w'!" Tears of frustration filled his slightly glazed eyes. "I got –wretched, waiting, wounded, weaker." His voice hitched, "But… but those aren't _**good**_ words…"

Cap felt a stab in his heart at those words, clearly hearing the growing despair his crewman was feeling at the time. He wasn't alone in those thoughts.

"I got some good words for you, Gage!" Chet burst out, a smirk on his face. "How 'bout…. wacky, weird, wishy-washy and whiny! I think those are good words for you!" he snorted in laughter.

Johnny turned his eyes in Chet's direction and each of the men froze at the hurt reflected in those coffee-colored depths. "You…you do? Think that …of me?" His voice was soft and filled with dejection. Chet's mouth dropped open as he realized his teasing had backfired. He'd meant to lighten his pigeon's mood, to maybe get a growled, "Shut up, Chet" not make an injured Johnny feel worse. Marco's elbow crashing hard into his ribs didn't hurt Chet nearly as badly as the tear filled brown eyes blinking at him.

Johnny shifted again, his body moving with his distress as he panted. Roy leaned closer, "Johnny. Johnny, relax. Let the MS work, partner."

"The words…; I …I have to … to have good words…" Johnny moaned, his confused mind focusing only on his game, the game he'd contrived to keep him alive until rescue. It had become all important to him in his pain.

"I have good 'w' words for you, Johnny." Cap's voice was firm yet soft as he gently squeezed Johnny's hand. "How about—Worthy. Wistful. Woodsy." Johnny's body slightly relaxed as he now focused on Cap's words.

Marco placed his hand on Johnny's upper arm and the dark eyes shifted in his direction. "Yeah, amigo, those are good words … and there's Witty. Winsome. And how about Wiry?"

Roy smiled as he added, "I always liked—Wily and Whimsical." He patted Johnny's dark head. Johnny's gaze flicked in his direction as he relaxed more.

Mike laid his hand on Johnny's thigh, "Yes. Those _**are**_ good words. So are Well-favored. Warm-hearted And Weetingly."

"What the hell's weetingly?" Chet muttered. But Johnny had focused on Mike, a tiny smile tugging his lips. "Knowingly…" he whispered. Mike nodded, "That's right, it means knowingly."

Chet rolled his eyes, "Great. Mikey's using his college education… again." he muttered and Marco's elbow found that same spot. "Owwww!" he grumbled.

Suddenly Chet realized what was happening. With the encouraging words, Johnny was once more relaxing. '_**He's personalized the words!'**_ he had the sudden revelation. '_**The words have become about him!**_' Now he felt even worse over his early outburst. "Hey! I got some more for you, Gage." He ignored the angry glare shot at him by his shiftmates as he leaned closer so that Johnny's glazed eyes looked into his. "Try … Wholesome. And Wanted." Johnny blinked at him then gave a soft smile.

Roy stroked the sweaty hair sticking over the kerlex out of his friend's eyes. "And how about some from your own language? Wašte (pronounced wash-teh)."

"Good." Johnny echoed.

"Wohitika" Roy added. (pronounced woh HEE tee kah)

"Be brave." Johnny whispered, his glassy eyes rolling as he blinked slowly.

"And there's Wankala, (wahn KAH lah)" Mike chimed in. Roy blinked at him, surprised that Mike knew any Dahkota, not knowing the engineer had asked the young Indian to teach him of his culture several years ago.

"Tender." Johnny's voice was a mere whisper now, his eyelids drooping.

"And the best one, Wakaŋ-taŋka (wah KAHN tahn kah)"

Johnny's lips barely moved as his eyes fluttered closed and his body went limp, except for the shivers which still shook him. Chet looked at Mike. "What's that one mean?"

"God."

"It means Great Spirit or God."

Both Mike and Roy answered.

"Roy?" Cap's voice held his worry as he watched his paramedic check the now unconscious younger man. Roy shook his head, "I can't tell if it's from the MS or…" Marco and Chet swallowed harshly at the pause.

Roy sat back, worry bare in his eyes. "He's very weak. He needs to be at Rampart _**now**_." The distress was palpable in his voice. Each man tightened the various holds they had on their injured crewmate as if by force they could keep him with them.

Cap's head whipped around to glare at the road. "Where's that damn ambulance?" He dug in his pocket for his HT but stopped and gave a heavy sigh as the wail of a siren broke through the night air.

The ambulance had barely stopped and the attendants hadn't even managed to get out before Chet and Marco had the back open and the gurney pulled out. They quickly placed Johnny's backboard on the gurney and were loading the it in as the two skidded around the sides.

"Sorry. We got held up on the highway. Accident by the off ramp." George said to Roy. Then his gaze caught on the gurney's occupant. "Gage?" he questioned.

Roy climbed in as Cap and Mike placed the equipment inside. "Turn the heat on back here, George, he's hypothermic." he ordered the stunned man.

Cap looked at George and his partner who stared wide-eyed at the two paramedics they knew so well. "I suggest you take another route back." His voice was hard.

George nodded. "I will." He promised and ran back around to climb back into the cab. Dick, his partner, dove into the back and settled into the seat by Johnny's head, making sure the cannula into Johnny's nose was still in place. He took the IV bags from Roy and hung them from the hooks.

Cap looked into his senior paramedic's eyes. "We'll be right behind you." he promised. Roy gave a curt nod and began taking Johnny's vitals for an update to Rampart as Cap and Mike slammed the doors. Both smacked the back of the ambulance and it took off, siren wailing loudly. "Marco, squad." Cap ordered as three men scurried to the engine and soon two more sirens joined the ambulance's cutting through the night as they raced for the hospital.

Dr. Kelly Brackett, head of Rampart's Emergency Department, pulled into his designated parking spot and stopped his car. He relaxed for a few moments, a slight smile on his face. It was his first day back after a rare four day break and he'd spent the time indulging himself with whatever he wanted. It had worked; he felt relaxed and ready for the pressures of the job once more. "I really need to do this more often." He mumbled to himself. "In fact, both Joe and Dix could use a break like I just had." He smiled as he remembered the great little seaside club he'd found the second night and had revisited twice. His jazz-loving former intern would adore both the music and the ambience.

He grabbed up his briefcase and sauntered into HIS emergency room. He took a deep breath, smiling at the familiar smells of antiseptic, alcohol and bodies. He nodded Janice Keller, who murmured, "Doctor.." as she passed and then he glanced around the waiting room. For once, not many chairs were filled and most of the occupants looked to be waiting relatives rather than patients. He continued on in, seeing Joe Early standing near the base station for the squads, his gaze intent on a file in his hands.

Kel stopped next to him and quipped, "The cavalry is here, early I might add, and eager to get back to the grindstone. Go ahead and leave, Joe, I'm sure I can handle things from here."

Joe raised his head and Kel saw the worry in his eyes. "I wish I could, Kel. But I've got a case on its way in I'm going to. I have to take up to surgery. I could use a hand…?" He eyed Kel hopefully.

Kel gave a firm nod. "Of course. What is it?" He took the offered chart and frowned. "Hmmm, last vitals not too bad. Could be better though." He was going to add more but a voice from the link broke in.

"Rampart, this is 51. Ummm, I've got an update on .. on my patient en route ."

Joe punched the button. "Go ahead 51."

Kel's attention was on the communicator but he felt Dixie's body push next to and bump softly into his. He glanced at her and got a softly muttered, "Welcome back," but her gaze was fixed on the link and her brows were knitted in worry.

"Rampart, victim's vitals are dropping. Pulse now 126, respirations back up to 54, BP now 78/52 and dropping. Victim is warmer, temp now 95 axillary. He's unconscious but still reacts to stimuli. Wounds still seeping." Roy's strained voice came over the speaker.

Joe sighed and rubbed his eyes. "51, send me another strip."

"10-4. Lead 2."

The machine began its whirring as the paper reeled from it. Kel frowned at the sheet as did Joe. "Still tachycardic, no surprise there. Rhythm still good … no. There, see it? He's starting to show some arrhythmia." He pointed to an area on the strip.

Joe nodded, "51, we see some abnormal spikes. Increase IV drip and monitor closely. Keep us advised of any further changes."

Roy's voice was clearly worried as he replied, "I concur on arrhythmia. Increasing drip and monitoring patient closely. ETA now 5 minutes. We will advise. 51 out."

Dixie scribbled the orders into the chart as Joe sighed heavily, his fingers pressing the corners of his eyes and his nose. Kel watched them a moment, his own brows turned downward in a frown. "I'm glad I got that nice break. I'll need it for whatever that vexing accident-waiting-to-happen hose jockey has gotten into now." He shook his head. "Good thing I decided to come in early and made it here before they brought Johnny in."

At those words, both Dixie and Joe raised their heads and blinked at him in surprise. "How did you know…."

"His name's not on the chart. How…."

Both Dixie and Joe stuttered out but stopped asKel raised a hand, a the smirk on his face. Kel tilted to one side as a sardonic smile pulled at his lips. "One—both of your reactions to this case, two—I know 51's on shift, three—and the biggest clue—Roy's voice told me he's under a lot of stress. All that can add up to only one thing. Now." He crossed his arms, "How 'bout you explain to me how John Gage got to the point he's coming in with hypothermia on an 89° night?"

Joe and Dix took turns filling in the other doctor on what had transpired over the last 7 hours. As they talked, Kel's frown deepened. "So, both shock and hypothermia. I agree on the OR. Best thing would be to get him stabilized with some blood and warm blankets then get that bleeding stopped before we clean out whatever he's gotten into."

"OR 4 is ready and waiting. Two units of his type are already there as well as debriding set-up. X-ray is on stand-by" Dixie informed them.

Kel nodded, "Good. We'll take him straight up when he gets here. Dix? From what you said I think Roy will need to be seen too. Probably best to keep him overnight anyway. If they don't demand he return to duty, which I probably won't release him for anyway, he'll only spend the night in a chair by Johnny." Kel told them as the three moved toward the receiving doors.

Dixie smiled as she nodded, knowing Kel was right. "I already let the surgical floor know to keep a room open."

Kel smiled, "Good girl."

She tilted her head slightly, her blue eyes twinkling, "Glad you noticed." She quipped.

Any other small talk was aborted as the sound of an ambulance backing up to the door cut them off. En masse, they stepped out and reached for the ambulance door just as it swung open from the inside. Dave leapt out, grabbing the end of the gurney and pulling. Three anxious caretakers got their first look at their friend. First thing they noticed was Johnny was backboarded and restrained as well as covered with several blankets. His eyes were closed, his face nearly colorless under smudges of dirt and blood as he panted under a fogged mask. His body shook violently with cold and they could see Roy had tethered his arms to protect the IVs.

Roy hopped out, his shirt wet with sweat; more sweat ran off his reddened face and dripped from his nose. He held two mostly full IV bags high. "These are his second liters. As his body got more fluids and sugar to burn he really started shaking. I couldn't get a decent BP or temp on him."

Kel eyed the paramedic as the four raced the gurney through the halls. Roy noticed they were bypassing the treatment rooms and headed straight for the elevator. "Taking him straight to surgery?" he gasped breathlessly.

"Yes. We'll work to stabilize him there then do what we need to. I don't want to waste time moving him around." Kel said. He frowned as the sweaty paramedic stood close to him in the crowded elevator. "You turned the heat on." He guessed.

Roy nodded. "He still was so cold." He looked down at his shivering friend.

Kel nodded, noticing also the lines of stress on the senior paramedic. "We'll take care of him, Roy." The doors opened before Roy could answer and they quickly moved into the prepared room. Once in there, Roy moved off to one wall by Johnny's head. The blankets were ripped from his friend's body as the team began their dance for the young paramedic's life. The straps for the backboard were released and it was pulled away, the rest of his clothes were removed, wounds were uncovered, new lines were poked into various parts of Johnny's body, one now dripping much needed blood into Johnny's depleted veins. Heavy warmed blankets were draped over his torso and legs and the areas examined by the doctors were quickly recovered to prevent further heat loss. Dixie had removed the mask of the O2 from the ambulance and slipped a mask of warmed humidified O2 over Johnny's face. Janice detached the squad's monitor and replaced it with the hospital's which immediately started to beep in a rapid cadence.

"BP coming up now, 92/68. Pulse dropped to 110, respirations now 40." A nurse Roy didn't know said. Dixie had shifted Johnny slightly over onto his side and Roy winced in sympathy for his friend, relieved his unconscious state spared his dignity as the nurse got a more accurate temperature reading. "He's warmer now, Kel. 96.4"

"Good. I think he's stabilizing nicely." the dark haired doctor murmured as he glanced to Joe who was reading the latest strip spewed out by the monitor.

"Heart rhythm looks good. Settling out just fine," Joe affirmed. He leaned over his young friend and softly but firmly called, "Johnny? Johnny can you hear me?"

Johnny moaned slightly and his head moved. Joe checked his eyes, "Still dilated but responsive." He announced then tried again. "Johnny, I want you to squeeze my hand. Can you feel my hand in yours, Johnny? Squeeze it as hard as you can."

Several breaths were held then released as Joe broke into a smile. He patted a well covered shoulder and said, "OK, Johnny. That was good enough. We'll have you fixed up here in no time." He lifted his head and nodded to the eyes intently watching him, "He responded, not a very hard squeeze but he did try."

Kel looked up at Roy. "He's doing good, Roy. Now I want you to go with Janice and get checked out yourself."

Roy opened his mouth to protest then blinked in surprise as a wave of dizziness washed over him. He tried to speak but his tongue felt glued to the roof of his mouth. Next thing he knew he was in a wheelchair and Dixie was kneeling next to him, just deflating a BP cuff. "88 over 62."

"Roy," Kel cut off his paramedic's protest. "You were dehydrated earlier. I believe you are again."

"But, I had an IV…" he weakly protested as his earlier headache reacquainted itself now that the adrenaline was leaving his body.

"Yes but that was before you sat for nearly 15 minutes in a sauna of an ambulance." Joe chided him. "You were trapped yourself for over five hours and didn't let that full liter IV drain, did you?"

Roy ducked his head, knowing Marv must've reported he'd pulled his IV when they got word the kids had been found. Joe was continuing, "I know your body is probably feeling like you've been fighting a brush fire, or that it soon will once the adrenaline you're feeling wears off. You had a several runs this morning before you reported on that last one. In truth, your body has been under tremendous stress over the last 17 plus hours and is probably ready to collapse." From the way the paramedic's head was hanging, Joe knew he was right. He placed a gentle hand on the younger man's shoulder as he ended with, "Go with Janice back down to the ER and get checked out, get another IV and maybe some mild pain relief for those arms you're trying not to let us know are hurting, and let Kel and I do what we need to for Johnny."

Roy sighed deeply then gave a weary nod. "Alright." He raised his head and his gaze caught on the still shaking figure on the table. "But someone will come let me know…"

Both Kel and Joe agreed quickly, "As soon as we finish." they promised. Roy acquiesced and sat back into the wheelchair. Without further delay, Kel turned to the nurse by Johnny's side and gave a curt nod; she began injecting something into Johnny's IV port. Almost immediately and a little frightening to Roy, Johnny's body stopped shaking. His head told him Brackett was sedating Johnny, possibly adding a muscle relaxer as well, but still, to see his partner's body go completely lax after shivering for so long caused his own heart to leap.

"I need that suture tray and that cauterization tray set up. Have x-ray get up here now." Joe ordered as he washed up and gowned. Next to him, Kel was likewise preparing.

The anesthesiologist sitting by Johnny's head grabbed it and extended his neck, pulling it back and removed the O2 mask. Roy felt himself being pulled backwards as he saw the anesthesiologist pull his friend's mouth open and begin carefully intubating him. Nurse Janice pulled the chair backwards through the door and just as the door softly closed, he could see Dixie pulling the blankets from Johnny's body and replace them with surgical drapes. He heard Kel ordering another set of vitals as he stepped back up to the table, now gowned and ready. "I'll be waiting, partner." He stared at the closed doors as he softly promised and then gave a sharp bitter laugh as he muttered, "Another 'w' word."

"Did you say something, Mr. DeSoto?" The nurse asked as she paused by the elevator door.

Roy shook his head and closed his tired eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry this took longer than I wanted. I did finish this in June but had joint replacement surgery right afterwards and have been in recovery and rehab since. I'm learning to walk pretty well now and the doctor is confident I'll nearly fully recover. Once I got back to where I had use of a computer I discovered my beta also had suffered some disabling medical problems. We both are healing now and eager to finish this. The last chapter is being betaed as I write this and will soon be up also. Soooo, enjoy!

Chapter 7

Captain Stanley jumped off the engine, waiting only long enough for his men to join him before they stampeded into the ER. The few people waiting in the seats looked up in surprise as firemen charged through the door but since they weren't in their turnouts, they quickly lost interest. Cap walked straight over to the desk where a young woman was doodling on a paper and talking on the phone. "I know! Well it made me really mad, that's what. Do you blame me? Oh be serious! I know you and you'd have been mad too."

Cap tapped his foot impatiently once he realized the rambling conversation was anything but hospital business. He waiting a few more moments then cleared his throat suggestively. The aggravating girl glanced up at him and raised her finger in an 'one moment' gesture. Cap's eyebrows rose in surprise then crashed down as he loudly but firmly spoke, "Excuse me."

The girl sighed and rolled her eyes, "Hold on, Mary, there's some guy here getting impatient. Uhhuh, I know! Yeah I think so too."

Cap's nerves had had enough. He leaned forward and loudly demanded, "Is there someone here who is actually working?"

Another nurse came out of the back in time to hear the exchange and a frown covered her face as she opened her mouth, prepared to defend her co-worker. But a quick glance at the girl who sat frozen, phone to her ear, eyes wide and mouth open in shock was enough to tell her exactly what had happened. She cleared her throat, attracting both parties' attentions. "Jan, you haven't been making personal calls on hospital time again, have you?"

The girl quickly hung up and stammered, "No ma'am."

The other nurse nodded and turned a smile to Cap. "She'll help you, Captain." And she left. Cap was sorry she did, having a feeling the girl wouldn't 'help' him at all.

He turned back to see the rude girl paste a sickly sweet smile on her face and coo, "Now sir, how may I assist you?"

He took a deep breath and reined in on what was left of his temper. "I'm Captain Stanley, LA County Fire Department and two of my men were brought in here a little bit ago. I want to know how they are doing."

The girl blinked and in that very condescending voice asked him, "Are you a relative?"

Cap counted to ten silently and fast, "No. I just told you; they are my men. They work under me. Their names are John Gage and Roy DeSoto. We followed them in. Where are they? How are they?"

She smiled at him and he had a sudden vision of a spun sugar viper. "I'm sorry. I can't divulge any information about patients to any but relatives or next of kin." She looked him over and her smile seemed to become more of a sneer. "Hospital policy, sir. I'm sure as a 'fire department captain',… you know understand policy." Somehow she made his occupation seem like the lowest form a human could devolve into.

Cap sighed as his face flushed, "Can you tell me where Dixie McCall is?"

Her eyes blinked rapidly at that name but she held onto the sickening smile, "She had the evening shift. She's off duty now, sir. You'll have to come back later." With that, she turned from him and began shuffling papers.

Cap closed his eyes and counted to twenty. "Cap, we've looked around and there doesn't seem to be anyone we recognized working now." Marco told him.

"We can start looking in the treatment rooms until we find them." Chet suggested.

At that the girl looked back over at them, her hand on the phone, "Sir, if you attempt that, I'll call security and have you escorted out." Her voice hardened as she continued, "In fact, I suggest you leave before I call them anyway."

Cap turned around and inhaled to let this little chit know just what _**he'd**_ suggest when another voice stopped him cold. "Jan, that is enough." Both fire captain and shocked girl turned to this new authoritative voice. Carol stood just in the doorway behind the desk, her hands on her hips. "I've been back here and I've heard every word of what is going on."

"But… but Miss Williams, it is hospital policy …. And they aren't kin." She stammered but Carol held up a dark-skinned hand and stopped her, her black eyes flashing. "I know that. But you also know that mostly applies to phone calls where the person asking can't be verified. Captain Stanley already told you who he was and the privacy policy on patients is for their _**medical condition**_…" She stressed the words. "You should have found out where they were and then asked the Captain to wait while you got a doctor or a head nurse to come talk to him." She glared at the girl who hung her head.

"I'm sorry, Miss Williams." She whispered but her face was more like one of Hank's teen daughters who rebelliously would repeat the words but not mean them.

Carol seemed to see it too as her eyes narrowed slightly. "We'll discuss this more later. Leave now; your shift is long over. Go make out your time card and if you add overtime I know you didn't work, I'll bring you up on charges." She promised the girl who paled and moved hastily past her. Carol turned to Cap with a genuine smile but concern now in her eyes. "Now, Captain Stanley. Did I hear you say Roy and Johnny came in? As in, as patients?"

Cap nodded and quickly gave her a short rundown of the last 8 hours of misery. She listened carefully then motioned. "Come with me." They followed her over to the charge nurse's desk where she begin to leaf through paperwork stacked there. "I just clocked in and haven't seen the reports or Dixie so she could brief me." She explained. She stopped, reading something, "OK. I see the paperwork on the call in from 39's on Roy here…." She looked around more. "Nothing on Johnny though. They might still have the chart with him."

"But where are they?" Marco asked, his eyes going to the closed treatment room doors as if he could see behind them.

Carol read something else and shook her head, "Not down here that I can see…."

Chet's face paled as he grabbed his captain's arm. "Cap! Johnny! Roy said he was getting weaker … You don't think….?"

Cap gently removed the hand but his voice was firm, "No. I don't. Don't let your imagination get ahead of you." Chet gave a faint nod but he still chewed worriedly on his mustache.

Carol watched, her own concern darkening her eyes, "Why don't you gentlemen have a seat in the lounge while I track your missing paramedics down? At this hour the coffee is usually fresh." She smiled warmly at them as Cap nodded.

"Alright. Chief stood us down for two hours food and clean-up." Cap held his hand up to stop the outburst of protests from three voices. They instantly stopped but the hang-dog expressions on three faces caused him to give a soft smile. "Relax. I'm not gonna say we should leave here before we find out how they are. Marco? Why don't you take the squad and go to that diner across the road and get supper for all of us—Roy included. We'll eat in the lounge while we're waiting," Cap ordered and the four men shuffled off, shoulders slumped.

Carol watched them go with sympathy in her gaze, then straightened, once more all business. "OK Mr. Johnny Gage, where are you hiding?"

She saw from the status report that neither was listed in the treatment rooms but there was no one else at the desk to ask. She picked up the phone and began to dial. After four calls, she replaced it and sighed, now more worried than she had been before. Admitting didn't have them listed, they weren't in x-ray or in Ortho, and the girl answering for surgery was clueless. She only knew that two rooms were being used, but not who was in there.

"Carol, there you are." A voice startled her and she turned as Sally bustled by her to reach into the med cabinets behind her. "Sorry I wasn't out here, got a tricky case in three… cactus needles in a 6 year old." She continued as she grabbed various supplies and dumped them onto a tray. "Oh, Dixie is assisting Dr. Brackett and Dr. Early up in surgery. She'll be down to brief you when she's done. Things haven't been bad but it's been fairly steady. I have to get back." Sally hurried off before Carol could question her.

Carol watched the door to the treatment room close and sighed again. "Well hello. So you have the graveyard with me." A pleasant voice came from near her elbow. She turned and smiled at Dr. Jose Estrada. Black eyes twinkled merrily at her from under bushy, equally black brows. "The night always goes faster when you bring a bit of sunshine here with you."

Carol blushed at the older doctor's honeyed words. "Why, thank you Doctor."

He sighed and looked around. "Now, if I knew where my colleague was and got a report from the man I'm supposed to relieve, I'd almost be a happy man." He clasped his hand over his heart and his face took on an exaggerated hopeful expression that made her giggle.

"Oh! Sally just buzzed through here and told me Dr. Brackett is assisting Dr. Early in the OR. It must not be too complicated because she seemed to think they'd be down here soon," she told him.

Jose nodded as he filled a cup from the coffee machine behind them. He motioned to Carol and she nodded. He filled one for her then handed it to her. She sipped the hot liquid gratefully before asking, "So, what has Rampart's most respected orthopedic surgeon on the graveyard shift in ER?" Her eyes twinkled in mirth as she teased, "Who did you tick off?"

Jose's rich laugh echoed in the nearly empty hallway. "No one, my dear," he assured her. "It's my regularly scheduled purgatory to pull a penalty shift down here," he teased back. They sipped their coffee companionably, Carol's earlier concerns temporarily forgotten.

"Excuse me, Doctor. I have a patient for you in treatment room 2." The soft voice of a nurse now standing behind him caught both their attentions.

Carol looked down the hallway in surprise. "There's no one listed as waiting to be seen and I didn't hear the ambulance, Janice…" she muttered.

"Oh. This guy came in earlier. He's one of those paramedics; he brought in a patient and Dr. Early wanted him seen also so he sent him down here." She supplied. She looked at her watch and frowned, "I was supposed to be off shift almost an hour ago."

"Go," Carol told her, "I've got this." Janice nodded her thanks and was gone.

Carol frowned as she grabbed up the chart she'd uncovered earlier. "I think I just found one of my missing paramedics," she murmured as she followed Jose into treatment room.

Roy looked up from where he perched on the exam table when the door opened and two people walked in. Jose smiled brightly at him and extended his hand. "Roy DeSoto, how are you?" He noticed that when younger man had automatically reached for his hand, he had winced and never completed the motion. "So, you want to tell me why you are sitting here?" He looked around, expecting to be tripping over Roy's worried partner any moment. "Where's your sidekick?" He asked.

"Where's Johnny?" Carol asked at the same time. Neither missed the droop of the shoulders and the heavy sigh.

"Johnny's up in surgery." Roy mumbled, his head down.

Jose reached for the chart Carol had and quickly scanned what little was on it. "Tell me, what happened?"

Roy sighed and told the whole long sad tale of the call and his entrapment as well as the rescue of both paramedics. Carol busied herself getting his vitals and quietly informing Jose of them between Roy's slow carefully spoken sentences. While he listened to Roy's incredible story, Jose gently palpated the paramedic's shoulders and arms, putting them carefully through some range of motion exams. Once the paramedic was finished, Jose gave him an encouraging pat gently on the leg.

"Don't worry so, Roy. You know Johnny has two of the best there with him. I'm sure he'll be just fine."

Roy nodded, "I know."

"You have some very worried shiftmates in the lounge as well," Carol added as she unwrapped the BP cuff from his arm.

Jose began writing in his chart. "I don't think anything is too badly damaged, just strains is my bet. You'll be sore, make no doubt about that, and I do want to keep you for the night. We'll get you rehydrated and give you some muscle relaxants to combat those cramps you're feeling."

Roy tried to shift himself and guiltily dropped his hand from where he'd unconsciously been rubbing his shoulder. Jose saw and grinned.

"Doc, if that's the case, can you wait on all that until I hear something about Johnny?" Blue eyes looked at him pleadingly and Jose sighed.

"I think your partner has been teaching you bad habits." He shook his finger at the paramedic who looked puzzled. Then he nodded. "OK. I'll go with that. However," his voice became stern, "I also prescribe a hot shower and some food while you wait or no deal."

Roy grinned in relief, "you got it, Doc." Jose clapped his thigh again, handed the chart to Carol and left. Carol pulled out an IV set-up and began swabbing Roy's arm. He frowned at her and tried to move away but the pain that caused as she tightened her grip stopped him.

Carol frowned, "Roy. You heard the doc. Now, you can still eat and shower with this IV. It'll be straight ringers; I'll leave out the medications until you know about Johnny." Her stern look brooked no discussion.

Roy reluctantly nodded and winced slightly as she found a vein. He noted she'd had to search and mumbled, "I guess I am pretty dry if you had that much trouble."

"Oh, I'd have found one….." Carol murmured as she taped everything down.

Roy nodded, knowing the former Navy nurse would have at that. Then he sighed again. "Johnny was so dry and shaking so bad I nearly couldn't find one vein let alone the two doc ordered." He scrubbed his face with his hand as he recalled his struggle treating his friend. "He needed it so bad and I couldn't….." he broke off.

"Roy. That's enough of that." Carol's voice was sharp and he raised his head in surprise. He was confused for a moment, then realized he must have spoken his dark thoughts out loud. "You got him in here in time. He's up in surgery with two of the best doctors this hospital has to offer. So just let it go." Her face softened as she gave a comforting smile, "Johnny will be fine. And you know he'd be the first one to tell you you did everything you could for him; as soon as you could."

Roy nodded, knowing she was right. Johnny would frown at him and begin to fuss about Roy and his guilt. That thought brought a shadow of a smile to his lips. Carol saw it and patted his arm. "Feel better?"

Roy nodded but knew he wouldn't truly feel relaxed until he saw his friend again. Carol helped him off the table and Roy cringed at the shakiness of his legs. He hadn't felt that weak before. He sighed, knowing Dr. Early had been right; now that the adrenaline was being processed out of his body, he was feeling exhausted.

"Now for the rest of the doctor's orders." Carol was saying as she began pushing him through the door. He grabbed onto the frame, halting their forward progression. "What? He said I could stay awake until…"

"I _**know**_ what he said, Roy DeSoto." Carol's voice was clipped. "And I happen to know that both food and some very worried friends of yours are waiting in the lounge. Now," She leaned around so he could see into her face, "you have a choice. Horrible leftovers of whatever I can scrounge up in the fridge or down in the kitchen and a lonely hospital bed? Or hot food with your friends." Before he could answer, she pushed the lounge door slightly open and four heads came up from the table where the engine crew of 51's sat. Immediately Roy was surrounded, dozens of questions being fired at him simultaneously as his wheelchair was grabbed by four sets of hands.

Roy turned to look over his shoulder toward Carol who stood there, arms crossed over her chest and a smug look on her face. "You fight dirty," he accused.

She laughed, "All military medics do. You should know that; it's part of the training." She walked over with them as they settled Roy by the table stacked with containers of food. Pungent and delightful smells emanated from the open take-out boxes and Roy's stomach gurgled as he realized just how hungry he was.

"Now listen," she commanded in a firm voice and at once four mouths shut and five sets of eyes locked solidly on her. "Johnny is currently in surgery with Drs. Brackett and Early. Roy here is under doctor's orders to eat, then he's headed for a room upstairs for a hot shower and a bed. He can answer your questions as long as he fulfills those orders. If not…," she glared about her.

Cap hid a smile as he gave a curt nod. "No problem. He will eat," he assured the nurse even as he turned his own stern look on his paramedic. Knowing Roy's care was in good hands, she left to return to her duties while he ate.

Roy scowled, "Sheesh, you'd think I had trouble hearing or something," he grumbled.

"Or that you were Gage by the way they're acting," Chet crowed, then stopped as worry for his friend retook his mind. "John's in surgery? Why? What happened?"

Mike had been busy selecting food from several of the containers and piling it onto a plate. Now he slid the plate in front of Roy and placed a fork in the oblivious man's hand. "Eat," he commanded.

Roy startled slightly as the coolness of a fork was slid into his hand then glanced briefly at Mike who smiled and nodded back toward the food. "Well, those wounds were pretty dirty and his leg still hadn't stopped bleeding completely so Dr. Early took him straight up to the OR. They started him on some blood, then sedated him," Roy said even as he filled his fork, then filled his mouth.

Chet had been nodding along but now broke in again, "but that still doesn't say why he's in surgery…."

Roy chewed and swallowed before he answered, "Chet, think. They are gonna have to clean out those cuts in his arms before they can sew them closed. And he was still shaking so badly when we brought him in, Doc sedated him both do that safely and so Johnny won't feel it. Those kind of procedures are safest when done in an OR."

Chet nodded then shuddered as he imagined how painful it would be to have those wounds cleaned and stitched while alert. "Yeah, ok. But his leg…"

Roy emptied his mouth again and nodded his thanks when Marco handed him a cup of coffee. He drank then looked at Chet. "I think they were gonna hafta cauterize it. I heard Early order a tray set up right before they wheeled me out of there."

"Cauterize? What's that?"

Roy was chewing so Mike took over the explanation. "It's when there's an area they seal with a very hot instrument to stop bleeding. It looks sorta like a soldering iron."

Chet's eyes got big, "They're gonna _**burn**_ him? Like with a hot iron? Couldn't that be dangerous to him? I mean _**burns**_?"

Roy shook his head, 'It's a controlled area, Chet. Quite small, really, and very focused. It's not like in the old westerns where they would cauterize an arrow or bullet wound by sticking a hot knife into it. " His eyes took on a twinkle at the slightly green look to Chet's pale face and Marco hid a grin while Cap was suddenly interested in his coffee cup and Mike finished his own dinner by dutifully cleaning his plate with a piece of bread. "That worked back then, but we're not so primitive now-a-days, Chet." Roy added.

Chet sat back, a frown on his face as he digested that news.

"And what about you," Cap pointedly looked at the IV, "What did the doc say?"

Roy finished off the last of the food on his plate and shook his head at Mike who raised one of the containers with a questioning brow. "I'm alright," he started.

Captain Stanley felt his last nerve go suddenly. It really was a strange experience and he wondered briefly at it just about the same time as he heard words exploding from his mouth. "Knock that off right there! Right there on your chest it says 'Desoto' not 'Gage'. That's the kinda half assed stupid comment I'd expect from _**him**_ and I've never tolerated it before and I never will; from him OR you! Now I asked you a question and I expect a reasonable intelligent informative answer! So spill it!" Cap commanded, causing Roy to blink rapidly and the others to look up in shock. Then Marco, Mike and Chet burst out in laughter. Finally Roy relaxed a little and gave a sheepish smile.

"Sorry. I meant it's nothing really serious, Cap. Doc says I'm dehydrated which we knew and I got a little woozy from having the heat up in the ambulance so he decided I needed some fluids. He said my shoulders are strained and will be sore for a while but I'll be able to work by next shift. He wants to keep me tonight because he wants to give me some muscle relaxers and some pain relief. I'll call Jo and have her come get me in the morning."

Cap nodded at the fair answer, putting correctly into place what the Doctor had really said. He knew that since the morning would see them with three days off, Roy was probably right, although he'd make sure he was cleared for duty before he came back. He wiped his face. He had a feeling his youngest would be off a little longer. Stitches needed to be kept dry and clean and a paramedic's job was anything but either.

They sat around for a few silent moments, drinking coffee and slowly winding down from the last hectic hours. Each was lost in their own thoughts when a sultry voice startled them, "Well! I certainly hope you all left a poor tired working gal some coffee."

Five heads whirled toward the door and four men jumped up. Marco got a fresh cup while Mike guided Dixie to a chair that Cap pulled out while Chet poured coffee and handed it to her. She smiled sweetly at them, seeing and totally understanding the worried looks in their eyes. She sipped the brew and thought about how well this shift worked together. They had started the paramedic program with teams, hoping each team would mold into one efficient unit. They could never have planned or hoped that such would happen in the firehouse crews as well. But something about the Gage/DeSoto team had gelled with the engine crew and made each man into a part of a well working rescue machine. She mused that possibly the concern they had for each other might have a lot to do with it. 51's A shift really did buy into the "brotherhood" hype.

Her thoughts were disrupted by Roy's soft plaintive two word plea, "Dixie? Johnny…"

She smiled at all of them and rested her hand on Roy's. "He's going to be fine. Brackett is filling him full of antibiotics to try to ward off any infection and we're sure we got the wounds as clean as we could." She sighed as she remembered the dirt nearly impacted into the young paramedic's arms. "He must've really fought that fall."

Roy ducked his head as his mind took in a picture of his nimble partner scrambling futilely for a way to stop his plunge. "I'm sure he did," he murmured.

"So. His temp? And the blood loss?" That was from Cap.

Dixie nodded, "His temp is now normal and we're watching for any side effects from his chilling but so far he seems to have avoided that. He's received one pint already and will get one, possibly two, more units. He really bled heavily and he bled more before Joe could seal off those vessels in his legs and while we were debriding his arms. We'll be keeping an eye out for any complications from the blood loss but so far everything looks fully functional." She smiled at Roy who looked relieved. He knew severe blood loss complicated with hypothermia was severely taxing on vital organs like the heart and kidneys. It was a huge relief that Johnny seemed to have avoided that problem. Dixie drank more of her coffee before she continued, "He tore the MCL, that's one of the major ligaments inside the knee, but that should heal in about 6 weeks. If he was going to tear any ligament, that's the one to do. It heals the best without needing surgical intervention. We've stabilized his knee and immobilized it. He's not going to be doing walking for a while anyway between the gash on his leg, and that knee."

Roy nodded. "And his ankle?" Marco asked, remembered the swelling he'd seen when he'd carefully removed the paramedic's shoes.

Dixie hid a smile at how medically knowledgeable these "mere firemen" were about their young comrade's injures. "He has an incomplete fracture of the medial malleolus." At the blank looks from all but Roy, she elaborated, "That's the small knuckle of bone on the bottom of the fibula that makes up part of the ankle."

Roy frowned but it soothed away as the nurse hastily went on, "It was an incomplete fracture Roy. More of a crack really. He won't need surgery or even plates or screws. He must have hit the ground awfully hard to tear the MCl in one leg and crack his other like that."

All five men nodded sadly, not really wanting to dwell on their friend's fall. Dixie drank more of her coffee before she spoke again. "He took nearly a hundred stitches over all. He'll be sore for a while but I think he'll heal just fine and be back hassling all of us in a few days. He'll be off work for at least two months to let those injures heal then strengthen back up with physical therapy. But all in all, he'll be just fine."

Sighs were heard all around. "Can we see him?" No one was surprised when that came from Chet.

Dixie shook her head, "Not right now. He's in recovery. We're watching both his temp and those wounds for signs of infection. He's still coming out of the sedation and Brackett thought he might have to send him back under to keep him from pulling anything loose."

Roy sighed heavily and tapped his fork against his cup. "The anesthesia huh?" He muttered glumly. Dixie nodded.

Chet's eyes began to twinkle, "You mean…. He's ralphing his guts out?"

Marco glared at his friend and muttered something low in Spanish. Cap scowled and opened his mouth to reprimand the Irishman but it was the quiet engineer's turn to snap. Mike glowered at the lineman. "There's nothing amusing about someone being in physical pain and misery, Kelly. It's not like he had a choice; pain causes shock and shock kills. If they hadn't sedated him he might have died, or at least been in horrible agony while they tried to clean him up, set everything and stitch him closed. And you think that's _**funny**_?" He scolded.

Chet blinked, then stopped, thinking about that. "I guess not," he whispered as he turned his head away from the incensed blue eyes of the angry engineer. All thoughts of teasing his friend fled as he imagined Johnny helpless and in pain. He'd never want to wish that on him.

Dixie watched the exchange and her assessment of the closeness of this shift went up another notch. "Yes. The anesthesia has made him sick, as it does many people." She caught Chet's eye and added her own stern look. The Irishman gave a faint nod of understanding as he meekly sunk further into his chair. "Because of that, we'll keep him in recovery a little longer. He was severely dehydrated too and vomiting won't help that any."

Then she finished off her cup and turned to Roy. "Well. I was supposed to be off duty about a lifetime ago but I have one last task before I can clock out."

Roy raised his head and looked puzzled at her as she stood and grabbed hold of the handles on his wheelchair. "It's time for your shower, bed and medicines, Mr. DeSoto," she sing-songed, "Now come along like a good little paramedic and don't make ole Dixie cross."

Roy opened his mouth to protest but a look from his captain closed it with another sheepish grin. Cap gave a curt nod as he stood. "It's time we get back to the barn. Our grace period is almost over; we've eaten and we know how John and Roy are." He glared at the pleading faces around him. "I know you'd all rather stay here but we are still on duty. We will be back tomorrow once Gage can have visitors."

He watched the protesting looks die on their faces as they acknowledged the truth in his words. As a group they stood, cleaned off the table and trooped by Roy, each placing a hand somewhere on him as they wished him well. Cap was the last and he paused, "Get some rest Roy. You heard the lady; Gage will be fine. We'll come by later …" He paused again as he glanced at his watch and sighed, "later today to see how you both are doing."

"Roy will probably be released after we've made sure he's re-hydrated and eaten a good meal. Johnny won't probably be up for visitors until late morning, Captain." Dixie informed him as the group headed out of the lounge.

Cap nodded and patted his senior paramedic on the upper arm. "OK. We'll see you then, Pal." With that the engine crew left. Dixie wheeled Roy into the elevators and punched a floor. Roy wasn't really paying attention to where he was being taken. He wished that whatever room they put him in, they would put Johnny in as well, but knew that since his partner would be coming from surgery, he'd most likely be placed on a critical care floor. At least for the first day.

"Here we are, your cozy little bed," Dixie's cheerful voice pulled him back from his musings. He waited as she pulled the IV line and capped it off then he stepped from the chair into the bathroom. He was relieved to find he wasn't as shaky now. The warm water cascading across his shoulders and back felt heavenly and he had to shake himself awake as he realized it was making him drowsy. He quickly finished his shower and turned the water off. On the stool he found towels and a pair of scrubs. "Thank you Dixie," he muttered.

"You're welcome," came her voice from behind the door. "I thought you'd appreciate that. Now, get out here and into bed."

He came out of the room still toweling his head. Once he was settled into his bed, Dixie reattached the IV line and checked the drip. As she pulled two syringes from her pocket he suddenly sat up with a gasp. "JO! I forgot to call Jo!"

Dixie smoothly injected the first syringe even as he moved to stop her. "I called her and let her know what was happening. She said she'd be here in the morning after she gets the kids off to school. She also said to tell you she loved you and to sleep, that you'll need your rest to help Johnny." She smiled at the blue eyes looking at her sleepily as the muscle relaxer hit his system. "After all, with his arms all cut up, crutches are out and I doubt Kel will want him putting much weight on that leg or his knee so he'll be restricted to a wheelchair for a while."

Roy smiled at her as she injected the other shot. Then she leaned over and kissed his forehead, "That's from Jo too. Now sleep, hose jockey." Roy's eyes slid closed as the powerful drugs coursed through his veins and he slept.

Roy lay there in bed as his brain slowly began processing again. He wasn't sure what woke him and was a little fuzzy on all details such as who, what, when, where, why. His hand stretched out to touch his wife and instead hit something hard and cold. "Bars? On the bed?" he thought blurrily then it hit him. He was in Rampart and the missing details filled his mind. He let them settle as he kept his eyes closed and just breathed.

Once he was oriented, he began listening. There … a soft sound. And the feeling of another presence near him. He slowly opened his eyes a crack and in the faint glow of a weak over-the-bed light, he could see a figure in white taking the vitals of another person in the next bed. When Roy'd gone to sleep, he was sure he had been the only occupant of this room. Hope flared in his chest and he turned his head more to try to identify his roommate.

Dark hair framed around a pale face made sharp contrasts to the white pillow. Roy felt himself smile as he gazed at the familiar features. He hadn't even dared wish they'd put Johnny with him, knowing the more injured man would be placed where he got 24 hour care but it seemed Roy'd been "upgraded" so he could join his partner. He silently reminded himself to thank Dixie.

He immediately began a visual assessment of his partner's still form. Johnny's right ankle was sporting an open cast and was propped on a pillow with cold packs around it. His left leg was also propped up with cold packs bordering a brace on the knee. Wrappings and heavy bandages covered his lower leg and Roy was relieved to see there wasn't much evidence of bleed-through. Heavy blankets covered the uninjured parts of Johnny's lower body and were pulled up high on his bare chest. His arms were outside the covers and they, too, sported wrappings. His face was now clean but pale; his dark lashes resting quietly on his cheeks. An IV of clear fluids with a piggyback of yellow dripped into one arm and Roy identified it as an antibiotic. Another IV containing a deep red dripped into Johnny's other arm. Roy sighed, recognizing blood products of some kind.

As he watched, the nurse recorded her findings and then pulled a syringe out of the small container resting on the bedside table. She carefully turned Johnny's limp arm this way and that before she palpated an area then scrubbed it clean. Next she inserted a needle and watched the flash before she inserted a tube, twisting it until it began to fill with dark red fluid.

"Kinda seems a contradiction doesn't it? Putting blood into him via one arm and drawing it out again on the other?" Roy softly commented. The nurse raised her head and gave him a soft smile as she released the tourniquet over Johnny's bicep then pulled the second now full tube free. She pulled the needle out of Johnny's arm and placed a bandage over the site, pressing for awhile to make sure the flow of blood stopped. A bit of tape strapped the gauze in place and she carefully replaced Johnny's arm beside him with a gentle pat. She placed the filled tubes into her carton and made sure her charge was well covered and still peacefully sleeping before she stepped over to Roy.

"Hi Roy," she softly greeted him, "What are you doing awake? You should still be sleeping like Johnny there."

"Just woke up, Stacy." Roy smiled at her. He'd known Stacy for quite a while. At one time, Johnny and Stacy had dated but it soon became apparent that all they'd ever be were compatible friends—and that was fine with both. They'd double dated a few times with Marco and his girl and Stacy had accompanied Johnny to Roy's house as well as to some fire department functions. Then Stacy began asking her paramedic friend about that, "nice polite fellow who worked in his station." It hadn't taken long for Johnny to identify that the paramedic in question was Jason Schlemmer who'd just started working B shift. Johnny had spoken to Roy about what he should do about it when Jason had started asking Johnny roundabout questions concerning Stacy. Roy had cautioned his young—sometimes overzealous—friend about playing matchmaker, but, as was often the case, Johnny didn't listen. Roy glanced at Stacy's beautiful wedding ring as she took his vitals, smiling as he recalled just how she and Jason had gotten together.

Johnny had set up a date with Stacy then called Jason and begged him to take her in his place, saying he didn't feel well after a hard shift. Jason had reluctantly agreed and had taken Stacy to the highlighted concert of the year on Johnny's nickel.

The next day, Stacy had shown up at Johnny's apartment with homemade chicken soup and a big hug. It turned out Johnny HAD gotten sick from a cold water rescue and that Jason and Stacy had hit it off by the end of the night. She confessed neither one had been very talkative at first and she'd been hurt at what she thought was Johnny ditching her, but Jason had staunchly stood up for his friend, claiming he'd read the accounts of their shift and was surprised Johnny hadn't been hospitalized. Before the evening was over, both had realized what their friend had done. Their wedding had been the delight of the whole station.

"Everything looks good, Roy." Stacy told him as she finished marking his chart.

Roy nodded and looked over at his sleeping friend. "What about him?"

Stacy glanced over her shoulder at the other paramedic. "He's hanging in there. His BP is still a little low and his temp is up now but that could just be from the trauma yet. His last labs were still a little off, resulting in that last unit you see. However, I bet these new labs will be fine and the doctor will discontinue any more blood."

Roy nodded, "How many units?"

Stacy looked at him for a long moment before she answered, "That's his third." She saw Roy wince at that and quickly added, "But remember, he'd lost quite a bit before you got to him and more in surgery before they got that bleeder in his leg cauterized. His vitals are now all good, his kidneys are working and his screens weren't that off of normal." She patted the paramedic's shoulder. "He'll be fine, Roy. He just needs to rest and heal."

Roy nodded again, his eyes still on his sleeping partner. Stacy decided to change the subject, "So… what happened? It doesn't say much in the chart other than you both fell during a rescue . . . .?"

Roy snorted softly, "We didn't fall, well at least _**I**_ didn't fall. More like, a house tried to kill us."

Stacy blinked, "A … house tried to kill you . . . ," then she looked clearly doubtful as she crossed her arms and asked, "and just how did this house try to kill you?"

Roy grinned, "Well, a bookcase nearly fell on me and when I jumped backwards, the section of the floor I stood on shot downward, like a fast elevator and I was trapped in this narrow slot about four feet from the floor's surface—with my arms up over my head." He rubbed his still sore muscles as he added, "I was in there about 6 hours I guess before Cap and them found me."

By now Stacy's eyes were wide, "Are you sure this wasn't one of Chet's horror movies?"

Roy gave a sardonic grin, "It sometimes felt like it." He told her more about the bizarre layout of the house and the trouble their rescuers had had trying to find them. "It was because of the girl thinking she'd heard ghosts in the house that Mike got the idea it was actually Johnny she heard calling out."

Stacy glanced over her shoulder, "I'm almost afraid to ask about Johnny."

Roy sighed, "Near as we can figure, he stepped into a room where this guy had had a glass floor that he then would project things through like flames and snakes and stuff—you know, to scare people. The projector must have fallen sometime in the past and broken out some of the floor and Johnny…well….."

Stacy gave a sad sigh, "Johnny burst into the room like Johnny does and didn't see the floor was gone until he was falling. He must have tried to grab things on the way down and that's how he cut up his arms."

Roy frowned and found himself speaking in his friend's defense. "I fell through first and I was… you know… calling him…" he finished the last words quietly.

Stacy laid a gentle hand on his shoulder in understanding. Most of the men stationed at 51's all knew the closeness of the A shift paramedics. They knew that the two men would do the best in their power for any injured stationmate but that Johnny would move heaven and earth for his partner. As would Roy for Johnny.

"Not your fault, Roy. The blame lies squarely on the homeowner. And you got Johnny out, didn't you?" Stacy comforted him. "Johnny won't blame you, Roy; don't blame yourself. He's going to need help recovering from those injures and you're the best person to give it to him. You know he doesn't tolerate being helpless well." She smiled to remove any sting from her words.

Roy nodded as he fiddled with the blanket edge. "He was trapped down there for over 7 hours, Stacy. Seven hours he called and called for help and no one answered. By the time I got down to him, he was barely conscious, freezing cold and bleeding badly …."

Stacy tightened her hold, "He's out of that hole. He's safe now. And he's here getting the care he needs. Now, how about I get you a little more pain relief and you join your partner in sleep." Without waiting for an answer, she pulled another syringe from her case and injected it into his IV port. As sleep began to claim him, she smiled. "Relax Roy. John's fine and so are you. Now rest and heal."


	8. Chapter 8

Ahwright! As our favorite dark haired medic would say… This is the conclusion of this story. Thanks so much for the reading and the reviews. That house gave me some weird dreams …. Or maybe it was because of the anesthesia….

Anyway, this is it! So enjoy!

Chapter 8

When Roy next opened his eyes, the room was bright with sunlight streaming in the window. A quick glance over to his partner revealed Johnny was just as he'd last seen him: asleep in the next bed. A closer inspection showed there were some changes; the blood IV was gone—only the antibiotic and D5W IV remained. Johnny's face didn't look so pale now, either.

Roy glanced up and noticed that sometime since he'd talked to Stacy, his IV had been removed also. Carefully, Roy sat up. Muscles protested but moved fairly well. He cautiously slid his feet over the side of the bed and stood, stopping to let his head clear before slowly making his way to the bathroom. His morning necessaries finished, he crawled back into bed, still feeling the effects of the rough shift.

He must have dozed off, because the sound of someone moving his bedside table woke him. An aide smiled cheerfully at him as she placed the tray she held onto the table in front of him. "Enjoy your breakfast!" she chirped then left. A quick glance over at Johnny showed he still slept, oblivious of the tray on his own bedside table.

With a sigh, Roy braced himself to face the inevitable and removed the steamcovers. To his surprise the food actually looked edible! There was a steaming cup of coffee, a small bowl of cut-up fruit, a glass of orange juice, two slices of crisp bacon, toast and scrambled eggs. He picked up his fork and began eating. Except for being fairly bland, the food went down well.

He had finished the meal and was gratefully sipping his coffee when the aide returned for the tray. She took his with a cheery, "My! I guess someone was hungry!" Then she looked at Johnny's untouched meal and shook her head, clicking her tongue. "No good, Mr. Gage. You didn't touch anything. The doctors won't like that; they want all patients to eat their meals."

When Johnny made no signs of hearing her, she frowned and reached out, intent on shaking the man awake. "Don't!" Roy's harsh voice stopped her and she turned wide eyes toward him.

Roy had raised his hands as well, his body half out of the bed before he realized his harshness had frightened her. He tried to placate her with a smile. "He's uhhh, he's been given medication for nausea," he excused his partner. "It makes him sleepy and he's probably not very hungry."

She frowned at him. "The doctors want all patients to eat their meals," she stubbornly repeated. "I have to report this."

Roy nodded his head, "That's fine. Report it. I'm sure the doc knows about him. Just .. ." his gaze went to his friend's relaxed face, "Just don't wake him yet. He needs his sleep."

She paused as if she thought that over then shrugged. After all, that wasn't her problem. She'd tell the nurse and let her handle it. "OK. But he won't get anything else till I bring in lunch," she warned.

Roy smiled, agreeing with her yet knowing that if Brackett or Early ordered food be brought up for Johnny it would be done. Chances were that when his partner woke and was hungry, whatever nurse was in charge would order food for him just as quickly. The aide gave a final nod, took both trays and left.

Roy watched Johnny a little while longer then turned his attention to the TV in the corner. Keeping the volume low, he watched the morning news and the talk program on after that. He had just switched the set off when his door opened. He sent a smile at Dr. Early, who returned it with one of his own.

"Well! Good morning, Roy!" He glanced at the chart in his hand and nodded, "I see you ate a good breakfast… or at least what passes for one here…," he joked. Roy chuckled. He waited patiently while Joe took his vitals and marked in his chart. Joe closed it with a click and looked at his patient. "Everything looks good. How do you feel?"

Roy winced slightly as he shifted in bed, "Like I spent last night fighting a four alarmer."

Joe laughed, "I figured as much. That's why I had you on those muscle relaxers. I wanted you to rest."

Roy nodded, "They worked. I slept pretty good."

Joe nodded again, "I think I'll go ahead and write up a discharge order for you. But you know how things go around here, they probably won't let you go until after lunch." He scribbled in the chart as he added, "You know the routine, rest all you can, watch what you do so you don't strain those muscles any more, call me or come in if it gets worse…" he paused as he tilted his head and closed his eyes as he flicked his hand as if bored and said in a strange accent, " ... etcetera, etcetera, etcetera." Then he looked at Roy, his eyes twinkling merrily, "I've always wanted to say that."

Roy grunted, "Yeah. Kinda like, 'take two aspirin and call me in the morning'."

Joe looked disappointed, "Awww, I should've said that one." Both men smiled, enjoying the bit of light-hearted humor. "I figure your lovely wife will be coming to get you?"

Roy nodded, he'd already had a quiet conversation with his wife, "Jo said she'd be in after she got the kids to school. I expect her any time." He watched as Joe walked over to the other bed and began examining his other patient. "How is he?"

Joe finished, patted Johnny's lax hand and walked back over to Roy. "He's doing just fine, Roy. All his stats are back in the normal range, the wounds all still look clean and vitals are normal for him. Dr. Estrada will probably cast that ankle later today, as the swelling has gone down significantly."

"He's still asleep," Roy's voice came out more plaintive than he intended and Joe gave him an understanding smile.

"Kel dosed him pretty heavily with pain relievers and an anti-emetic. You know how he reacted to the sedation and with the pain of those cuts on top of the soreness he'll be feeling from all that shivering…," he shrugged, "we wanted him to rest and not fret."

Roy nodded. He'd forgotten how sore one could feel after hours of shivering. It was literally exhausting. Joe patted his arm. "We cut back on the meds earlier this morning. He's just sleeping now; he'll wake when his body lets him."

Roy sighed and gave a nod, knowing the doctor was right. "OK. And thanks Doc. For everything."

Joe shook his offered hand as he smiled, "My pleasure, Roy, just don't make this a habit. I prefer to see the two of you in the ER upright and in your blues, not flat on a table."

Roy laughed, "I prefer that too and I'm sure Johnny would agree." He cast another worried glance at his friend.

Joe shook his head in silent amusement, "He's going to be just fine, Roy. He'll be sore for a bit, but before long he'll be irritating us pleading to get back to work." He headed toward the door with a parting, "Get some rest now, Roy, while you can. Johnny will be awake and talking your ear off soon enough."

Roy watched the door close and settled back in his pillows. He must have dozed off because his thoughts got a little fuzzy. Then, suddenly he was wide awake. His eyes flew open as he looked around; trying to discover what had awakened him. Nothing seemed glaringly different; the light had slightly changed angle through the window, the door was still closed, and Johnny was in the same position. He listened carefully… then heard it. A faint catch in Johnny's breathing before it smoothed back out.

Roy threw the covers aside and stepped slowly toward his partner. Now bending over Johnny, Roy could see his eyes moving under his lids and faint twitches in his face. Then he voiced another slightly louder moan. Roy laid his hand on his partner's shoulder. "Johnny? Johnny, it's Roy. You're alright now, partner. C'mon; wake up."

Johnny shifted his head slightly and his hand twitched. "Roy?" The higher voice shocked him for a moment as Roy stared at his friend in confusion then movement by the door got his attention. His wife stood just inside the door, her searching gaze taking in both of them. "Roy?" she repeated anxiously, and he grinned sheepishly at his momentary misunderstanding.

"Hi sweetheart; I'm doing good. Doc said I can go home probably after lunch." He assured her and those green eyes he so loved latched onto his partner.

"And Johnny?"

Roy smiled as he looked down when Johnny voiced another faint moan. "Doc said he'll be OK, too. He's just now finally trying to wake up." JoAnne joined Roy at Johnny's bedside opposite her husband. She picked up his nearest hand and felt Johnny's slender fingers wrap gently around hers.

"Johnny, wake up. Open those big brown eyes for me, sweetie," she crooned to the man who had become a part of her family. Johnny's eyelids fluttered, showing flashes of brown. He moved his head again and one leg flexed. This time he gave a gasp as he stiffened in pain.

Roy placed a steadying hand on Johnny's shoulder, "Try not to move too much, Junior, you're pretty banged up," he advised. He reached over and picked up a few ice chips from the top of his freshly filled pitcher. He held them against Johnny's dry lips, saying, "Here. I bet your mouth feels like cotton."

Johnny's tongue touched the ice and his lips parted enough for Roy to slip them in. They both watched as Johnny swallowed. "Hey, partner," Roy leaned forward more, "You in there?"

"M….maybe…" came a soft voice. "More?"

Roy retrieved more ice and fed it to his partner. "Don't want to give you too much just yet. You need to wake up a little more so we can see if your stomach can handle it."

Johnny gave a faint nod as he swallowed the cool water melting in his mouth. "Now Johnny, open those eyes and let's see you." Jo coaxed and this time Johnny's eyelids fluttered then slowly opened. From their glassy look, it was apparent to both DeSotos that Johnny was still processing slowly. Jo beamed brightly at him and squeezed his hand as he focused on her.

"Jo…" he croaked then his eyes traveled over to the other presence he felt on his opposite side. He looked into Roy's smiling face and a faint smile turned up his own lips as Roy told him, "Good to see you finally back with us, Junior."

Johnny gave another faint nod then his smile turned into a frown as his gaze traveled down his partner then around the room. "Roy? You… get hurt? You …in Rampart?"

Roy squeezed his shoulder, "We both got a little banged up so we're both in here." His face became thoughtful as he asked, "Johnny? Don't you remember?"

Johnny stared straight up as his eyes blinked while he searched his fuzzy mind. "Yyyeah? Kinda…"

Roy glanced at his wife then looked back at his friend. "What do you remember?"

"House… trapped kids. House was all…. messed up. Doors that were windows… stairs into walls…" Johnny's eyes went wide as he attempted to sit up. "You called for help! I heard you! You needed me!"

Roy placed a hand back onto Johnny's chest as the younger man struggled to rise. Jo added her own soothing sounds as she held his hand. "Easy there, partner. Easy. We're both fine now. We're long outta that place." Roy told him.

Johnny blinked and looked at him, "I'm sorry, Roy. I'm sorry I was such a klutz and couldn't help you." Roy could hear the misery in his friend's voice.

"It wasn't your fault, Johnny. Whoever built that house had some serious issues, I'd say. You didn't see that the floor was gone when you entered that room, did you?" Roy knew he spoke the truth and saw so in Johnny's brown eyes.

Johnny shook his head, "No. It was too dark. I…I didn't know until I was falling."

Roy patted his friend's chest, "I thought so. And don't worry; I didn't fall, really, the floor just sorta… went down."

Johnny looked clearly puzzled at that as did Jo. "Come again, 51?" Johnny mumbled. Jo stifled a snigger.

Roy nodded then said, "Better get comfortable, this is quite a tale."

Johnny sighed and moved again. "In that case, can you get me some water? And help me sit up more?"

Roy cranked the bed until Johnny was in more of a seated position while Jo let him sip from a freshly poured cup. "Johnny…" Roy began but Johnny made a cutting motion with his hand.

"I know. I DO remember trying to puke my guts out. I DON"T want to start that again." And as evidence of that, he sipped the water slowly and cautiously. Satisfied, Roy pulled over a chair for his wife to sit on, then sat on the opposite side of Johnny's bed.

"Well, you remember falling, right?"

Johnny nodded. "And I remember treating myself and calling for what felt like hours…"

Roy winced and ducked his head, "It _**was**_ hours, Johnny. You were trapped down that shaft for over 7 hours before we got you out."

Both Johnny's and Jo's eyes went wide. "Seven hours?" Johnny breathed. He turned a hurt look toward his friend, "Couldn't you find me?"

JoAnne saw the look of guilt on her husband's face and jumped right in, "And how long before they got YOU out, mister?"

Roy ducked his head, "About six hours."

Johnny put his hand to his face and wiped it, a look of regret on his features. "Six hours. God, Roy, I am soooo …."

"Don't even start that, young man." Jo snapped. "Either of you!" One set of blue eyes and one set of brown eyes blinked at her in wide surprise. "Now. It's over and done. You both are here now, so that's that." She glared them into submission and got a sheepish, "Yes, Ma'am," from both then settled herself back. "Now, tell me about this horror house…?"

Roy sighed, sipped his own glass then began the tale. Once he was done, Jo was clutching one of Johnny's hands with one hand and Roy's with the other, tears in her eyes. "My God, it's a wonder someone wasn't killed."

"Someone almost was," Roy lamented as he gazed at his friend.

Johnny blinked the stunned look caused from the story out of his eyes and gave his friend a smile. "I'm fine. You got me out, Pally." He shifted uncomfortably and looked his body over, pausing to lift and examine each arm. Then he turned to Roy with a sigh, "Ahwright, so what's the damage? I'm sure it's quite a list."

Roy nodded, "Yeah, it is. Over all Dixie said a hundred stitches in your arms and leg, they had to cauterize your leg to get the bleeding stopped, you cracked the medial malleolus in your ankle and tore the MCL in your knee. You were in hypovolemic shock and suffering from hypothermia and dehydration when we brought you in. Doc knocked you out to clean you up and stitch you closed." Roy hesitated, "They gave you three units, Johnny…." he finished in a subdued tone.

"And a partridge in a pear tree…" Johnny whispered as he stared up into the ceiling. "Wow."

Jo couldn't help the snort of laughter that burst from her at his understatement. That bit of emotion broke the tension and a lop-sided grin covered Johnny's face.

Roy chuckled as he shook his head, "You…you crazy nut."

Johnny's grin broadened, "But a friendly one…," he reminded his partner. Then his face became serious, "And you're ahwright? No hidden injures you're glossing over…"

Roy shook his head, "Just the strains and a little soreness. Nothing, really. Like I said, I didn't fall, just sorta went down then couldn't get back up."

Johnny nodded. He settled back into his pillows with a sigh. Pain flared up from his injured legs and he caught his breath before carefully letting it out as he mentally pushed the pain away. He smiled at his friends as he asked, "So, what time is it anyway?"

Roy tilted his head at him with a frown. Johnny tried to blink at him innocently but neither was buying it. "I'd say it's about time for more pain meds from the look of it," Roy told him as he nodded to Jo's raised eyebrow.

Johnny frowned. "Hey! I just woke up! I don't wanna… awwwww, Jo? Why d'ya hafta go do that for?" he protested with a pout as Jo smugly replaced the call button she'd pushed.

"You need to keep the pain down to let your body heal, you know that," she told him as she smoothed the covers over his chest.

"She's right, Mr. Gage. You should know that," came a very cultured older voice and three heads turned as the white haired nurse came forward.

Roy smiled as he recognized her as one of the nurses who used to ride with them before the bill allowing them to operate alone passed.

"Hey! Ronda!" Johnny grinned, "I thought you retired."

"Semi-retired," she corrected as she took the supine paramedic's pulse. "That means I only work a few hours a week; usually filling in for vacations and as a call-in." She shook her head as she placed her hand on Johnny's flat stomach to get his respirations. "I didn't expect to see you two boys here on my floor today."

"Well, we certainly didn't plan it either," Johnny grumbled around the thermometer she had just shoved under his tongue.

"Quiet, you. I'm playing nurse here," she warned and both men snickered at the expression she'd used on them in the field. She pulled the glass thermometer from Johnny's mouth and turned it slightly in the light to get the right refraction to read the mercury. "Up a little there, Johnny. 101 on the nose." She shook the thermometer down and replaced into its container on his bedside.

Johnny sighed heavily as she marked all her findings in his chart. She patted his stomach. "Don't worry, it could just be reaction to the trauma. Doctor's got you on some pretty potent antibiotics already to get a jump on anything trying to start."

She frowned as a vibration came from under her hand and a loud growling sounded. Jo and Roy exchanged glances and chuckles as Johnny flung one arm over his face in embarrassment. "My! Something tells me the anti-emetics worked and someone missed breakfast!" Ronda exclaimed. She grinned at Roy, remembering from their time together how often the younger paramedic would get hungry and need to eat.

"I can't help it!" Johnny whined. "I haven't had anything to eat in over 24 hours!"

Ronda acted shocked as she injected something into his IV port. "That's horrible! No wonder your BP is low! I bet your blood sugar is too!" Johnny frowned at her faked tone and Roy chuckled while Jo put a hand over her mouth to hide her smile although her eyes twinkled.

Johnny glared at each of them and slouched into his pillows, "Fella gets hurt savin' folk and is helpless and everyone takes advantage of him…" he grumbled as Ronda tried to turn from them so Johnny wouldn't see the smile trying to burst free. Unfortunately for the playful mood, he moved his leg wrong and instantly stiffened as an involuntary cry burst out of him.

Immediately all joking left each face as three sets of hands reached for various parts of his body to comfort him. Ronda carefully re-straightened Johnny's leg as Roy coached him on taking deep breaths. Once his breathing and pulse rate settled, Johnny took a drink of the water Jo offered and looked up at them sheepishly, "Sorry. Guess I moved wrong."

Ronda patted his hand as she replaced it back on the bed, "You'll be fine, Champ. You're just not quite ready to run the 440 again yet." She smiled at him. "Doc scaled back on the pain meds and this afternoon, he wants you to be on orals. But the shot I just gave you should help."

Johnny nodded and gave her a genuine smile.

Ronda straightened the blanket over his leg as she said, "I'll order a tray for you with some soup. You manage to eat that and we'll put you on the list for regular meals." Johnny nodded to her and with another smile at each, she left.

Several hours later found Johnny once more asleep, and Jo and Roy softly talking. Johnny had eaten the soup and ice cream Ronda had sent up for him with no trouble. He had then been given more pain meds before being taken to the casting room. Now, he lay back in his bed, sound asleep, his freshly plaster-encased ankle propped up on a pillow.

The door opened and the same aide from the morning came into the room bearing two trays. She placed one on Johnny's table and put the other in front of Roy. "Here's your lunch! Enjoy!" she told him then went back over to Johnny. She stood by his bed with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face. "Asleep still, Mr. Gage? Well, this won't do. How can you get better if all you do is sleep!"

Roy was watching her and started forward, afraid of what she was going to do but before he cleared his chair, she grabbed Johnny's blanket-covered left leg and roughly shook him. Johnny's eyes flew open and he shot up as a scream of agony ripped from his throat. His hands clutched his throbbing leg as he hunched his body over it in pain.

The aide had jumped back at his reaction, her hand over her mouth as she stared wide-eyed at the now softly moaning man. "What's going on here!" a gravelly voice bellowed from the doorway. Dr. Brackett strode into the room, closely followed by a worried looking Ronda.

Roy was talking soothingly to his partner as he carefully pushed the blanket away to reveal the braced knee and the bloodstained bandage over Johnny's lower leg. The aide's eyes got wider as she realized what she had done, "I…I didn't know…. I was only following my instructions. "All patients need proper nutrition in order to heal so meals must be delivered quickly while hot and patients encouraged to eat,"" she quoted.

Ronda spared her a stern glance, "I told you once before, Ashley, this is not the maternity ward. Our patients here are recovering from a variety of maladies including surgeries and broken bones." She closed her eyes briefly then opened them and pointed toward the door. "Go. Finish the trays. We'll speak later."

Ashley, with tears in her eyes looked around the room, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she cried and rushed out.

"Johnny. Johnny, settle down. Johnny, please, let go. That's right. Now, settle back, partner. There." Roy was finally getting through to the distressed man and Johnny let him push him back into his pillows. "There, now open your eyes. Johnny, look at me." He waited until pain-filled brown eyes, awash with pain induced tears looked at him. "Now take a deep breath, that's right. And another, there…" Roy could see his partner was slowly relaxing, his breathing becoming less hitched and the pulse in the wrist he held was slowing.

Brackett was examining Johnny's leg, gently prodding and poking as Johnny gasped and went rigid again. "I think I want a closer look at his leg, Johnny," he told him, even as he slipped a pair of gloves on his hands and began pulling loose the bandage. Ronda was ahead of him and had left to return with a tray set up for wound treatment, her own hands gloved. Roy stayed by Johnny's head, his hand on his partner's heaving chest. Jo had moved opposite him and one hand was running soothingly through Johnny's thick hair while the other gripped one of Johnny's hands tightly.

For his part, Johnny kept his gaze locked firmly on his partner's blue eyes, his white knuckled hand returning the firm grip Roy held on him. He concentrated on taking slow deep breaths, pushing away the greyness in his vision and the buzzing in his ears.

Roy nodded to him, giving a smile of encouragement as he saw color return to his friend's white face and his eyes become less glassy. "You're doing good, partner. Stay with me here, Junior."

"He still there, Roy?" Brackett muttered as he swabbed the ragged wound.

Roy smiled as Johnny blinked at him and gave a nod. "Yeah Doc. He's still here. A little foggy but better now. Right Junior?"

Johnny swallowed hard and licked his lips. "Ye…yeah. I'm … I'm good." He blinked. "God! That hurt! What happened?"

"A stupid aide happened," Brackett growled and Ronda frowned at him.

"An _untrained_ aide happened," she corrected. She looked at Johnny, her eyes apologetic. "Ashley usually works up on the maternity ward. Her main job is to make sure all the new mothers are eating a good diet. She's not used to people injured, just tired and sore from childbirth."

"What'd she do?" Johnny wondered aloud. To him, it felt like she had tried to tear his leg off. He glanced down just to assure himself it was still attached to his body.

"She grabbed your leg and shook it to wake you up." Jo told him, her hand smoothing his hair back.

"She succeeded; I'm awake," Johnny mumbled.

Brackett finished his examine and took the supplies as Ronda handed them to him. "Well, she tore loose a couple stitches. I fixed them. You still have a little more bleeding than I'd like to see but not bad enough that I think we need to take you back to the OR."

Johnny nodded, "That's good."

Brackett gave him a quick smile, "I'm going to order more ice on this leg, Johnny. There still is a lot of swelling. And I don't want you to move much if you can help it. I won't totally immobilize it yet but you can't afford any more trauma to it. You must keep it still and let it heal."

Johnny nodded, acknowledging the warning. Brackett laid a hand on his paramedic's shoulder as he asked in a softer voice, "Other than that, how are you doing?"

"Not bad. I ate and kept it down..." he told the doctor.

Brackett looked to Roy who was nodding. "He did. And he's been talking with us when he's not been asleep."

Brackett smiled as he patted Johnny's arm, "Good. You keep that up. I'll see you later." And he was gone.

Ronda finished wrapping his leg and placed it gently on a pillow. "I'll be back with those ice packs, Johnny. You just relax like the doctor said." That said, she left but quickly returned with several cold packs. She placed them around the wounded leg, smiled as she patted him, and encouraged, "Try to eat. You do need it to heal." With that advice, she smiled at all of them then left again.

Johnny looked over at his tray and sniffed. "Well, I _**was**_ hungry. I bet it's cold now." He rolled his eyes at Roy. "And you know that hospital food is horrible cold."

"It's not the best warm, from what I hear, amigo!" A cheerful voice came from the open door. Three heads whipped around to stare in pleased surprise at the grinning faces in the doorway. "Hey! C'mon in guys!" Johnny greeted his shiftmates.

Marco came in with Mike right behind him, both carrying heavy bags. Chet sauntered slowly in behind them, grinning wickedly, his hands behind his back. Captain Stanley followed, shutting the door once they were all in. Mike and Marco placed the bags on the bedside table while Cap removed the cold trays, placing them outside the door and closing it again.

Johnny was eagerly helping Marco unload the bag so Cap motioned Roy over with a quick wave. Roy walked over to his captain with one glance back at his partner.

"Roy? What happened a little bit ago?"

Roy blinked at him, "When, Cap?"

Cap looked at him levelly, "We just came off the elevator and were nearly at your door when we heard John . . ."

Understanding grew on Roy's face as he gave a nod, "Ah. Yes. That." He quickly explained what had happened and what Brackett had said. Cap listened carefully and nodded, "So. He's OK? I mean, she didn't hurt him worse?"

Roy shook his head, "No. He'll be fine. Doc just cautioned him to not move that leg at all. I suspect they'll probably knock him out tonight and immobilize it so he doesn't move in his sleep. But I think he'll heal fine." He shook his head, "You know how fast he can heal." Cap nodded with a sigh. Unfortunately, he did know. His youngest had proved it too many previous times in his estimation.

"Roy!" Johnny called excitedly, "Come look what they brought! Mama Lopez fixed a feast."

"She said nothing was too good for her Juanito and Roy. She said you needed good food to heal, not hospital … uhhh… fare." Marco grinned as he censored what his mother had really said about the food served patients.

Johnny inhaled the fragrance from the plate of tamales and refried beans before him. "Ummmmm, tell her I love her!" he gushed as he stuffed a large bite into his mouth and chewed happily with his eyes closed.

Marco watched him, his eyes slightly moist. "She knows you do, little brother," he whispered.

Johnny heard and opened his eyes. A puzzled look covered his features as he looked from one face to another, seeing similar expressions on each but clearly not understanding them. He turned to his captain, seeing the same look in his brown eyes. "Cap?" he questioned.

Cap smiled warmly at him, "How are you, John?" He softly asked.

Johnny's eyes flicked once more around him then returned to his leaders' face. "I'm … good….?" He didn't sound certain and Cap felt a chuckle rumble up in his own chest at the bewildered look on his youngest paramedic. Johnny looked at Roy for explanation but found only a gentle indulgent smile on his partner's lips. "Something…wrong?"

"No Johnny," Mike laid a hand on his shiftmate's shoulder as he smiled, "Nothing's wrong. You eat up before it gets cold." He motioned to the fork held loosely in the paramedic's hand.

Johnny blinked at them, then sighed as he laid the fork down and pushed the plate slightly away. "OK. Someone want to tell me what's going on around here?"

"Johnny," Johnny's eyes went immediately to his partner's. Roy hesitated then inhaled deeply. "Johnny, the guys were outside when . .. "

Johnny blinked and motioned for Roy to continue, "They were outside when…..what?" Roy just shrugged.

Johnny blinked again then comprehension colored his face. His head fell forward as his eyes dropped to his lap. "Oh." Johnny spoke so softly they barely caught it.

"We … we were concerned, John. We …" Cap started but Johnny raised his hand to cut him off.

Johnny now took a deep breath. "Listen guys. I just want you to know that…. that I'm gonna be fine. OK? And … and I wanna thank you all for what you did at the house." His voice was as serious as the expression in his brown eyes as he looked from one to the other.

"You… you remember?" That came from Mike.

Johnny faced him and gave a small smile. "I remember enough." He tapped a quick rhythm out on his table and Mike grinned as he recognized it as the same one Johnny'd used while trapped. "You guys got me out of there and in here. The docs put me back together and I'll be back to work as soon as they get that cast off so the real healing can begin." He pointed to his new plaster anklet, knowing that while the fractured bone and cut would heal fairly quickly, it would be the subsequent PT he'd have to undergo that would be the lengthiest of his time off. He caught each set of eyes and saw the relief growing in them. "I'm fine. And… thank you."

Tense bodies all relaxed. Marco shoved Johnny's plate back in front of him. "I'll believe that if you finish this food," he teased, "because the John Gage I know would never let my momma's cooking be wasted!"

Johnny gave them all a big grin as he dug into his meal. Mike dished up a plate and handed it to Jo who thanked him before savoring her dinner. Marco handed another one to Roy who eagerly filled his mouth until the plate was empty. Johnny looked at his friends, his own mouth full of food and motioned to his plate then quirked an eyebrow. "We ate. Mama Lopez insisted on it while she was packing up this," Mike told him with a smile.

Johnny finally sat back into his pillows and placed a fist to his mouth to control a burp. He patted his stomach and sighed contentedly. "Ahhhhhh, now that was a meal! I'm stuffed; I couldn't eat another bite!"

"I'll say! You ate three platefuls, Gage! Geesh!" Chet rolled his eyes, "What a pig!"

"Kelly…" Cap growled.

Johnny scowled at his nemesis. "I was hungry!" he protested, "I hadn't had anything to eat since yesterday when I grabbed that banana before the call!" The others blinked as they realized the truth in that statement.

Chet, however, grinned wickedly as he ignored that and continued to needle his pigeon, "OH? So it has nothing to do with the fact you were …"

"Kelly! You were warned!" Cap barked out causing everyone to jump. "I see a future of latrine duty AND a complete washing down of both the engine and the squad! AND just to make sure you remember, let's add a complete washing of the bay when we're back."

Belatedly Chet realized his breech in his promise and his face paled slightly. He shuffled his feet as he muttered, "Yes sir."

Johnny had watched the action with a slight smile on his face, but his eyes blinked sleepily. Mike saw it and gave a nod to Cap. Cap cleared his throat as Marco gathered up the empty containers and returned them to the bag. "Well, you two probably need your rest so we'll go here soon."

"Actually, Roy should be released any time now," Jo told them.

Roy smiled and nodded. "Yeah, Doc said they'd probably let me go sometime after lunch."

Johnny smiled at him, "That's great, Pally." Then he frowned as he looked at his own body.

"And you will probably be out of here before the end of the week," Jo comforted him. "I'll have plenty of time to air out your room and hang the sheets out in the sunshine before Roy brings you home."

Johnny's eyes popped open wide, "Oh, no. Jo. I can't do that to you. I'll go to my own place."

Jo placed her hands on her hips and scowled down at him. "And how are you gonna manage that? You can't walk, what with both legs out of commission and there is no way there is room in your apartment to maneuver a wheelchair, let alone just getting up those stairs." She shook a finger in his face. "You are coming to our house until the doctors say you can walk on your own and that is final."

Johnny looked around at the faces all suddenly interested in other things, then turned to his partner who shrugged, "I'm not gonna argue with her, Junior. I'm not stupid."

Johnny looked back at the green eyes glaring at him and slunk back into his covers with a whimper. "OK." He meekly acquiesced.

Cap patted his shoulder and stage whispered, "Good man; good decision." And that broke the tension as they all laughed.

A knock came at the door and a nurse stepped in, "Mr. DeSoto? I need to do a final vitals check on you and then you are free to leave." She quickly completed the task and handed Jo a stack of papers. "I'll get your wheelchair."

"Well, John, we're gonna head out too." Cap said as he watched Johnny stifle another yawn. "But first…" He glared at Chet.

Chet got the hint and pulled up a large package he'd been keeping behind him. "Here ya go, Gage. Something ta keep you entertained." He carefully placed it on Johnny's stomach, mindful of his legs.

Johnny straightened higher in his bed, a huge grin on his face. "Aww, gee, Chet, ya didn't hafta." Then the grin left and he poked at the package suspiciously as he muttered, "Is it safe?" thinking of all the times Chet had pranked him.

"Actually, it's from all of us," Mike added. Johnny looked from one to the other. When his gaze reached Roy, his partner shrugged.

"Not me, Junior. I was stuck in here with you."

"It's from the engine crew," Marco elaborated.

Johnny blushed slightly as a warm feeling filled him. "Thanks guys." His voice was soft and filled with emotion.

"Well, open it!" Roy said.

Johnny laughed as he eagerly tore off the paper covered with small Halloween houses. "Cute, real cute," he growled sarcastically as he pointed to the depictions. Once the paper was pulled free, in his lap lay a large book. He looked puzzled then carefully turned it over, a little afraid over what he would see. His eyes lit up and a huge smile broke out over his face, "Cool! Thanks!"

He turned it so that Jo and Roy could read the cover. "_Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged_… Isn't that the book used by the spelling bee people?" Jo asked.

Johnny nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah!" Suddenly his head ducked and his still pale cheeks tinted pink. "Gee, thanks guys," he said softly. "This…this means a lot."

Jo looked around at the pleased faces of the engine crew then at the tear filled eyes of her young friend and finally at her husband. She saw he was watching his partner with tears in his own blue eyes. She frowned in confusion and he looked up, his blue eyes now twinkling as he mouthed, "Tell you later."

Chet tapped the book, carefully not putting too much pressure on it and hurt his friend, "Yeah, there you go, Gage. All sorts of words for you to learn and never have to use."

Johnny raised his head and his brows knitted in puzzlement over his friend's words. Mike snickered and Marco shook his head and sighed.

Chet frowned as he realized what he'd said hadn't been what he meant to say. "Wait. That's didn't come out right," he stuttered, and Johnny giggled. That sent the rest into peals of laughter.

Cap clapped Johnny's shoulder as he stood from where he'd been seated on Roy's bed. "Get some rest, Johnny. We'll see you later." And he headed toward the door.

Marco squeezed Johnny's upper arm, "Momma will be by with more food for you. You know how she feels about the food here," he winked as he walked toward the door carrying the much lighter food bag.

"Get better soon, Johnny." Mike tapped the book, "And check out the 'w's". He grabbed Chet and pulled him along, saying, "Tell Johnny good bye, Chet."

Chet struggled briefly as he protested, "But I don't want to leave yet."

"Kelly!" Cap growled and Chet smiled largely at Johnny, "Good bye Johnny. See ya Roy," and darted out the door. Cap, shaking his head, looked one last time at his paramedics, glad to see them both smiling back at him, then he shut the door.

Marco, Chet and Mike waited until Cap joined them then walked toward the elevator. "Man, Johnny looks a lot better than he did last night." Chet breathed out.

"Gracias Dios!" Marco mumbled as he crossed himself.

Mike nodded. The four entered the elevator in silence. Suddenly, as they watched the passing floors light one after another, Chet piped up with, "You know. Gage is damn lucky we found him when we did."

Cap gave a solemn nod. "Yes, he is. Dixie told me that if he'd been down there much longer he probably would have bled to death."

Mike gave a grimace, "That's the truth. As it was, it was a toss-up on which was worse, the shock from bleeding or the hypothermia. Both were killing him."

The others nodded just as solemnly, reflecting on how close their friend had once more come to dying. Chet's mouth fell open as he listened, his eyes wide with shock. "Wow. I hadn't thought of that."

At that confession, the others looked at Chet curiously. "I'm probably gonna regret this,…. but if that's not what you meant about Johnny nearly dying, amigo, then what did you mean?" Marco queried.

Chet closed his mouth and swallowed hard. He made a slight movement with his hand and followed it with a one shoulder shrug. "Oh. Well. I just meant that he had been all the way to the 'w's' And he was finding that hard…."

"Go on," Mike urged.

Chet took a deep breath and pushed out, "I mean c'mon guys, Look what's next. X's! I mean really, X's? What are you gonna find starting with X? X-ray?"

Marco rolled his eyes and mumbled something in Spanish. Mike smirked. "As usual, Kelly. You are wrong. There are lots of good words starting with X."

Chet jutted his chin out at the tall engineer. "Oh yeah? Name one. Better yet, name two. I bet you can't name two words that start with x and you can't use x-ray! Or.. Or Xylophone! You can't use either of them." His eyes snapped out a challenge. Mike just stared at him calmly while Marco continued to mutter.

Chet grinned triumphantly, "HAH! I knew it! Mister College CAN'T!"

Mike's grin got bigger, "Sure I can. Xanthocarpous," Mike answered in a smug tone, "And xerophytic."

Chet's mouth dropped open as his eyes went wide. Cap chuckled, "Somehow I don't think Gage's word game would include banana trees or a cactus."

Chet's wide-eyed look switched from the smug engineer to his captain. "You… you mean those are real words?"

Cap and Mike shrugged then nodded. Chet pointed toward Cap. "And... and you _**know**_ them too?"

Cap shrugged again, "Yeah, I do." At his lineman's still unbelieving look Cap blinked innocently, "What? My wife loves to play complicated word puzzles on family night." He grinned, "I've read and memorized the tougher letters from the dictionary that came with our Encyclopedia Britannica. You'd be amazed at the words in there." He gave a snicker. "Gets me big scores every time." He waggled his eyebrows over the double meaning as Mike dissolved into laughter while both Marco and Chet just looked shocked.

Chet just shook his head, still stunned as Captain and Engineer laughed heartily.

Back in the room, Roy was in the bathroom changing into the clothes his wife had brought while Jo sat on the edge of Johnny's bed talking quietly to the sleepy paramedic. Dressed, he returned to the main room and placed the scrubs he'd been wearing on his bed then turned back to his wife. "I guess I'm ready."

Jo nodded and positioned the chair for her husband to sit in but Roy paused, returning instead to his partner's bedside.

Roy had been aware of Johnny watching him and now he stood over his friend. Soulful brown eyes looked up at him and Roy could read every thought that passed in Johnny's eyes: happiness for his friend, longing that he, too, could leave, regret over his own condition and sadness over his impending loneliness.

Roy placed a hand on Johnny's bicep and squeezed. "I'll be back, Junior. I'll come back this evening and we can watch the game together."

Johnny's eyes flicked to Jo but then dropped to his lap as he fiddled with the edge of the book. "You don't have to, Roy." His voice was quiet. "Stay home with your family. I'm OK, really."

Roy shook his head as he gave Johnny's arm a hard squeeze. That got Johnny's attention and he looked back up at his partner. Roy opened his mouth but before he could speak, Jo did. "Nonsense, Johnny. I made pie yesterday afternoon and once we have supper, Roy will be bringing you yours here."

Johnny perked up a little, "Pie? What kind of pie?"

Jo smiled, it always made her chuckle over how much Johnny loved pie—any kind of pie—then she snorted as she mentally corrected, no, Johnny loved _**any**_ baked goods—period. Still, pie seemed to be his favorite. "I made two—one blueberry and one grape." At that Johnny's eyes widened and brightened. He smacked his lips, "Grape! I haven't had grape in…in…well, forever!"

Jo smiled as she brushed his hair off his forehead, "I'll be sure you get a piece of each. I know how you love blueberry pie as well."

He blushed slightly at her attention and his eyes sparkled. "Thanks Jo."

She smiled as she patted his cheek, "You're very welcome, Sweetie. Now sleep and get better. Your room will be waiting."

Jo backed off, taking the wheelchair with her, to let the two friends make their good byes.

Johnny looked up at Roy and smiled, "Thanks Pally, for everything."

Roy smiled back at him, "You're welcome. Now, do as my lovely bride said and get some sleep so you can get out of here and back to work where you belong."

Johnny chuckled and Roy grinned broader. Johnny nodded, "OK Roy. I will. See ya later."

Roy squeezed his arm again then patted it firmly, "See ya later, Junior." That said, he walked over to his wife and sat down in the chair with flourish. "Forward, my good woman and don't spare the horses."

Johnny giggled as the two left, then sighed heavily as he looked around the previously filled room. It now seemed so…empty and a bit depressing. Then he felt the weight of the book in his lap and a smile again stretched his face. He felt the warmth flood his body at his shiftmates caring for him.

He opened the book and chuckled as he read the note written inside and read aloud, "For Johnny, may you never need this many words again… But just in case, memorize away."

And it was signed by the whole engine crew. He leafed through several pages, marveling at all the different words as well as their meaning. Then he noticed there seemed to be a creasing between the pages near the back. It appeared as if the book had been held open at that spot for a length of time. Curious, he opened the book there and found himself deep into the "w's". As he turned page after page, he noticed some seemed to be highlighted with bright yellow. Since he was at the end of the section, he began searching out each marked word working toward the front.

Johnny looked at the highlighted words and frowned at the niggle of familiarity. "Worthy…Woodsy…Witty….Wiry…." he read slowly, his brows twisted in puzzlement. It was when he read, "Weetingly", he suddenly realized they were the same ones his shiftmates had comforted him with on the porch of that horrid house. A small smile begin stretching his lips until it covered the lower half of his face as a warm glow having nothing to do with the pain shot he'd recently received flowed through his body.

"Warmly…." He drowsily read as his eyelids drifted closed, then slowly opened once more. "Wanted…" he breathed softly as sleep pulled him comfortably under, the smile still on his lips, his hand on that page of the large book. And that was the way Jo found him as she came back into the room.

"Sorry Johnny, Roy thinks he might have left…"she stopped, her hand to her mouth as she took in the sight before her. Then a smile graced her own lips as she silently came forward. In the elevator, on the way out of the hospital, Roy had told her the meaning of the present given Johnny.

Understanding the meaning behind the gift now, she felt her eyes tear at the thoughtfulness of her husband's crewmates to her young friend. She gently took the heavy book from Johnny's lap, noting the page as she did then closing it, placed it on the bedside table. She pulled the covers up more firmly around the sleeping figure and shifted his bed so he was more reclined. She stood looking at his sleeping face for a few moments, then brushed the hair from his forehead and leaned over to give him a sisterly kiss. She murmured softly in his ear. "Yes. Wanted. Now. Sleep and heal, Johnny." Then she picked up the papers Roy was missing and quietly left.

AN- Well, that's it. You know, I think from now on I'm only going to write about wonderful, sweet, caring nurses concerned with their patient's welfare…. Then maybe next time I get stuck in the hospital, that's what I'll get. The surgery in January and the surgery I just had in June both found me saddled with too many like poor Johnny here. Oh well…..

There, it's written. Now… Back to the ending of _Enduring the Aftermath_ and the release of _Child Of My Heart_!

Oh, BTW—word meanings! And yes, I like to read dictionaries to find different words….

Xerophytic-adapted to a xeric (or dry) environment; "cacti are xerophytic plants"; "xerophytic adaptations

Xan`tho·car'pous- adjective [ Xantho- + Greek karpo`s fruit.] (Botany) Having yellow fruit.


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